


Could this become love?

by bicalamity



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Humor, Bisexual Harry Potter, Bisexual Hermione Granger, Bisexual Ron Weasley, Drama, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Hermione Granger & Ginny Weasley Friendship, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter Friendship, Hermione Granger & Pansy Parkinson Friendship, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Lesbian Pansy Parkinson, M/M, Minor Lavender Brown/Parvati Patil, Mutual Pining, Not Epilogue Compliant, POV Hermione Granger, Slow Burn, The Golden Trio
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:01:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 50,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27641789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bicalamity/pseuds/bicalamity
Summary: It was only meant to be a wager amongst friends, thats all.  Hermione had been careful, she'd made rules, but rules didn't account for the Slytherin's unexpected charm.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger/Pansy Parkinson, Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 48
Kudos: 476





	1. October 1, 7:00PM

It had all started with a bet… or a dare, Hermione really couldn’t remember which, but either way she wasn’t too keen on losing to Ron and Harry. They’d needed a way to entertain themselves and this one was simple: Whoever got into a relationship and had it last for at least a month won, and the bet? 20000 galleons _or_ a dare of the winner’s choosing to the loser. Eighth year had been a bit mundane up until this point, other then McGonagall’s intent on house’s bonding with one another that had landed them in _quite_ the sleeping quarter issue, what with Hermione being stuck with _Pansy Parkinson_ of all people, and Ron being stuck with some Ravenclaw, Harry… he seemed content in his roommate, but refused to disclose who the hell it was, which was a little annoying. All in all, living with Parkinson hadn’t been _too_ bad, Hermione had experienced war, which had been worse, and the Slytherin had come back to school a bit humbled and a little less bitchy, which made her… easier to talk to. And had apparently made it that Hermione let her guard down enough to become easy to read.

“Something’s bothering you, Granger. I can feel it over here. Talk.” Pansy sighed, closing her Defense Against The Dark Arts textbook and setting it beside her. Hermione considered saying no, she didn’t owe Pansy an explanation, but it would help to talk this out with someone.

“Harry, Ron, and I have this wager-.” Pansy raised an eyebrow and made a sound of surprise, scooting forward a little bit.

“You’ve peaked my interest. Continue.” Pansy said and Hermione chuckled and sighed. Of course that would peak her interest, but at least she had someone to talk to about this. She was fairly certain that if Ginny was talking to her about it, she would’ve already talked herself into the pot.

“Well, the bet is, since we’ve all seemed to have rotten luck with love, that the first one who can stay in a relationship for three months at least without fighting with the significant other of their choosing, wins 20,000 galleons.” Hermione explained, and Pansy let out a low whistle and nodded. Yeah, Hermione knew she had a lot riding on this, because where was she supposed to front the money for that? Harry was the only one who could pull it out of thin air in their friend group.

“Hefty price. What does the loser get?” Pansy asked, and Hermione grimaced. She knew that if the boys won, she’d never live down whatever the hell they were going to do to her. She would probably have to drop out and kiss her ministry dreams goodbye.

“The loser has to do whatever dare the winner chooses.” Hermione said and Pansy chuckled and shook her head. Of course the Slytherin could pick up on how horrific that could be, she had guy friends herself.

“So you probably don’t want to lose.” She said, and Hermione rolled her eyes. Was that even a question right now?

“Obviously. I’m not keen on losing.” Hermione snapped, and Pansy raised an eyebrow and gave her a slight smirk before she spoke again.

“Okay, so who do you have your eye on?” She asked, and Hermione shrugged. She couldn’t think of anyone she wanted to date right now. It was like… they’d just lived through a war, a relationship seemed like something that was very much at the bottom of her priorities.

“That’s the issue. No one really… peaks my interest. The last time I picked someone it was _Cormac McLaggen_.” Hermione said, and she shuddered a bit as she remembered the Slug club party, and this seemed to amuse Pansy just a bit.

“Yeah, not your proudest moment.” Pansy snickered, and Hermione glared at her and considered throwing her pillows at her. But she decided that venting was something she needed to do, and doing something that would make Pansy leave didn’t exactly sound like a good idea.

“Shut up, I know.” Hermione grumbled, and Pansy was silent for a moment, clearly thinking the situation through.

“What about a fake relationship?” Pansy asked, and Hermione shook her head. They’d never be okay with that.

“Pansy, that would never-.” She held up a hand to silence Hermione, much to her annoyance, but Hermione listened.

“Not fake to them, fake to the two of you. You pick someone who you’re willing to be stuck around all the time, and fake it for three months and then split the winnings.” She explained, and Hermione’s protests suddenly seemed foolish. That was actually weirdly smart, and it would make it that she was bound to win.

“That just might work.” Hermione admitted, and before she could say more, Pansy pulled herself to her feet and held out a hand to help Hermione up.

“Alright, very good. C’mon, let's go find your fake boyfriend, Granger.” She said and Hermione pulled back a bit. What the hell was going on right now? And what had she just gotten herself into.

“You’re gonna… help me?” Hermione asked and Pansy shrugged and nodded, still holding a hand out. Hermione took it and let Pansy haul her to her feet.

“Of course, I’ve got nothing better to do.” She said, and Hermione raised an eyebrow. So far this year Pansy hadn’t given her a reason not to trust her… but that didn’t mean that she’d forgotten all the years before.

“Okay…” She said as they exited their dorm, and Pansy gave her a moment before turning and talking.

“So, what's your type?” Pansy asked, and Hermione thought for a moment. She’d never really given her type much consideration, but she could give Pansy some idea of the things that she found attractive.

“Taller then me for sure… smart enough to keep up with my conversation, I don’t want to be bored in my fake relationship.” Hermione said, and Pansy nodded. She thought these were easy enough criteria to meet, and that it wouldn’t be irritating for Pansy to deal with.

“Oh no, no of course not.” Pansy said, her voice coming out dry, but Hermione knew she was actually taking note of all of this.

“And I would prefer an attractive person, but that's not a dealbreaker.” Hermione said and Pansy nodded, thinking for a long moment before she took a deep breath and looked over at her.

“Right. Well, there’s Blaise-.” Pansy offered, and Hermione made a face. Someone who sided with death eaters didn’t exactly seem like the best idea for her. Even if she was a war hero, there were obviously people who resented her, and Blaise was _probably_ one of them, but she wasn’t really in the mood to check.

“No.” She said and Pansy nodded and looked up at the ceiling as she thought for a moment.

“Theo-.” She tried and Hermione shook her head.

“No.” Hermione sighed. Theo wasn’t terrible, just not her type and not someone that Harry and Ron would believe.

“Draco-.” Hermione shot a glare at her and sighed.

“Do you still hate me or something? No.” Hermione said, and Pansy let out a soft chuckle and nodded as they turned a corner down the hall.

“Crabbe?”

“Disgusting.”

“Goyle?”

“Even worse.”

“Hm… Neville?” Pansy asked, and that one gave Hermione pause, but she decided it just wasn’t going to happen.

“Sweet, but Harry and Ron wouldn’t buy it.” Hermione said, and Pansy nodded, like that made sense. She wished it was as easy as Neville, he was nice to be around, very polite, not bad looking… but they just wouldn’t work, even as a fake couple.

“Dean?” Pansy asked, and Hermione grimaced. Dating her friend’s ex even in a fake capacity felt wrong.

“Nope.” She sighed.

“Seamus.” Pansy tried, and Hermione chuckled.

“See the before. They’re together, Pans.” Hermione pointed out and Pansy sighed and nodded, as if she was ticking off a mental list. Hermione hadn’t taken her as a matchmaker, but she supposed she could see it.

“Right, right. I always forget.” Pansy said, and Hermione shrugged. She used to as well, but she’d been more aware since the war, it only felt right.

“It’s okay.” She said, and Pansy sighed and rubbed her temples, clearly getting a little frustrated with how long this was taking.

“Merlin, this shouldn’t be so hard.” Pansy groaned, and Hermione thought for a moment, and then remembered. Pansy didn’t know.

“I’m not opposed to a girl, you know.” She offered, and Pansy looked over at her in shock, ubt recovered quickly.

“Really? That’s new.” She said, and Hermione shrugged. It wasn’t, she’d known that she was bi since fifth year, being around Fleur Delacour had only confirmed that fact for her… hard to not catch feelings for a Veela, even if it would never happen.

“Yeah, well…” Hermione trailed off, and Pansy’s gears were turning once again.

“One of the Patil’s?” She asked, and that one made Hermione pause. They were nice enough, Hermione knew them well… but she’d heard talk of Parvati being in a relationship with someone, and she didn’t know Padma _as_ well.

“Smart… pretty… could work, but Parvati’s taken and Padma’s straight… I’m pretty sure.” Hermione said, chewing on her lip. Pansy nodded and cleared her throat.

“Right. Lav-.” Hermione shot her a look and shook her head. She and Lavender had hashed out their differences, but that didn’t mean she _loved_ the idea of spending three concentrated months around her.

“Don’t finish that.” Hermione warned, and Pansy shrugged.

“Thought I’d check. Ginny?” Pansy asked hopefully, and Hermione snorted. Her friend was sweet, but that was like asking for death, what with how protective Ron could get of his little sister.

“Yeah, because that worked out _so well_ for Harry. Plus, Ginny’s too busy trying to get Luna’s attention.” Hermione said, and this made Pansy chuckle. It was cute to watch Ginny pine for Luna, but also it was getting a little frustrating and she was tempted to just tell Luna at this point. What did Ginny have to lose, really?

“Daphne?” She shook her head. Daphne Greengrass was _hot,_ but seemed to have the personality of a microwaved piece of ice.

“Seems more your speed then mine.” Hermione admitted, and she saw the way Pansy’s lips pressed together in a tight line for a moment and thought she might have hit a bit close to him. Pansy had come out to her at the beginning of the year, but Hermione didn’t know much of anything about her past relationships.

“I’m assuming Tracey and Millie are also a no?” Pansy asked, and Hermione grimaced. Yes, the Slytherin girls were plenty hot, but they were also _rude_ sometimes, for Merlin’s sake she and Pansy were _friends_ at this point and she could be a total bitch sometimes.

“Mhm.” She muttered, and Pansy groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. Something told Hermione this was more work than she thought it was going to be.

“Damn, you’re picky.” Pansy sighed, and Hermione shrugged. She figured she had the right to be picky about her fake relationship, she was going to be stuck around this person for three whole months.

“It has to be believable.” Hermione said, and Pansy sighed, clearly about to say something else but someone interrupted them.

“‘Mione.” Hermione heard Harry call down the hall, and she didn’t like the looks of his grin. This was bad. This was very bad.

“Shit. Shit shit shit.” Hermione cursed under her breath, and to her surprise Pansy ducked down to her level and raised an eyebrow, like she was actually willing to help. Sweet, but not helpful right now.

“What?” Pansy asked, and Hermione sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She wanted to throw herself off of the astronomy tower, she was going to lose to _Harry James Potter_ . But on the upside, so was Ron.

“Harry’s got his gloating face on, that means he’s probably found someone.” Hermione pointed out and Pansy shrugged, clearly not seeing the issue with this. The _issue_ was if Harry found someone on the first day he had an advantage to making it to the three month point first, and Hermione wasn’t having that.

“And? You’ve got-.” She turned to Pansy and placed a hand on either arm. The Slytherin girl was pretty enough, she had nice lips, while her eyes were cruel and cold sometimes they were pretty, and her facial features _were_ something that Hermione had at one point been rather envious of, and her body was to _die_ for. She would do _just_ fine.

“Kiss me.” Hermione said, the determination clear in her voice and probably just as clear in her face, if the surprise on Pansy’s was any indication. The Slytherin cocked her head to the side and chewed on her lip.

“What?” She asked softly, and Hermione rolled her eyes and hopped up on her toes, giving Pansy one last commanding look.

“Just do it.” Hermione whispered, pulling Pansy down into a firm kiss. She was _shocked_ by how soft the other witch’s lips were, although she shouldn’t be, she’d seen Pansy’s extensive nightly routine for a couple weeks now. And once the surprise wore off on Pansy’s side, Hermione felt two small, strong hands on her waist, leading her against the wall, probably just to get them out of the walkway, but she had to admit that Pansy wasn’t terrible at this... like at all. Hermione listened close, hearing Harry’s footfalls come to a stop right in front of them, and she smiled triumphantly against Pansy’s lips, but didn’t break away.

“Herm-Oh. Sorry, I didn’t know I was interrupting.” Harry said, and they broke apart, and Hermione did her best to act like it was difficult to do so, and she noticed Pansy slip her arm around her waist and level a glare at Harry.

“Yeah, Potter. Can’t you see I’m busy snogging my girlfriend?” Pansy snapped, and Hermione was a little impressed by her quick uptake on this, especially considering her confusion just a moment again. Harry wasn’t convinced, however, and he leaned against the wall and sized them both up.

“I don’t buy it.” Harry said flatly and Hermione shrugged and leaned a bit into Pansy, trying to ignore the sound of surprise that came out of Pansy’s mouth. They had to sell it in this moment, didn’t they?

“Doesn’t matter if you do or not. Now, was there something you wanted to say?” Hermione asked, resting her head against Pansy's chest. She smelled _really_ good, not that Hermione was surprised because again, she'd seen the self care Pansy had and it was rather good.

“Oh, just that I found someone.” Harry said, and Hermione wanted to wipe the cocky look off of his face, but she instead kept her cool.

“Really? Who?” She asked and Harry just leaned closer and narrowed his eyes, causing Pansy to shove him back. Not what Hermione was expecting, but she was playing the role of protective girlfriend pretty damn well.

“Oh, you know him _very_ well.” Harry insisted, and next to her, Pansy raised an eyebrow, now suddenly invested.

“Draco?” Pansy asked, and Harry gave her a funny look as he shook his head. Honestly, Hermione didn't think it was beyond the realm of possibility, and Pansy was okay in asking that. She'd only been curious.

“What? No. Darling? Come here.” Harry called, and Hermione was confused. It was just Ron. And then it clicked. It was _Ron_ . They couldn’t possibly be serious, Ron was straight… to her knowledge, she and Harry had accidentally came out to each other while they were on the run last year, but Ron… they’d never talked about it.

“Hey.” Ron said, and turned to leave a light kiss on Harry’s lips, leaving both girls with looks of shock. Hermione recovered first and cleared her throat, shaking her head. This had to be a breach in the rules.

“What. No. That’s against-.” Harry held up a hand to silence her as his other gripped Ron’s. They were an odd match, that was for sure… and Hermione didn’t see a way this _wouldn’t_ blow up… sure, the two were friends but they were a bit too much the same. It would drive them both mad.

“It’s not. And just a question… how _comfortable_ are you with running through the great hall nude? Because you might want to work on that.” Harry said, and Hermione noted that even Pansy’s eyes rolled on that one. She let the boys walk away before she groaned and rested her head against the wall. This was a disaster.

“Ugh those utter _wankers_ . I’m never gonna win now, how am I supposed to find someone.” Hermione groaned, and Pansy was silent for a moment before she reached over and lightly rubbed Hermione’s arm in an attempt to comfort her.

“I could use that 10,000 galleons.” Pansy muttered, and Hermione looked over at her with surprise, but she didn’t meet her eyes.

“Are you actually offering-.” She nodded, but held up a hand to silence Hermione before she spoke.

“I have some ground rules.” Pansy said, and Hermione nodded. She’d do anything at this point, her morals were on the ground for this one.

“Okay.” She said, and she knew she sounded a little hasty, but she didn’t care. Pansy grabbed her hand and pulled her along behind her.

“C’mon, we’ll talk in our dorm.” She mumbled, and once they were in their room, Hermione shut and locked the door behind her, placing a hand on either of Pansy’s shoulders and steering her so she was standing as far from the door as she could get, and then Hermione sat down and looked up.

“So… rules.” Hermione said, and Pansy nodded, sitting down next to her on the bed, clearly thinking about it.

“One. This doesn’t change our dynamic, it's been nice to have a friend who isn’t always gossiping.” She said and Hermione felt her cheeks get a bit hot. Of course she knew they didn’t hate each other anymore, but it was still weird to hear Pansy so easily refer to her as a friend.

“I agree.” Hermione murmured, and that satisfied Pansy.

“Two. You do my Transfiguration homework for a month.” Pansy said, and Hermione considered protesting, but also… this was a big ask. A pretend relationship for at least three months? She owed her, so she nodded and sighed, crossing her arms. She would have to deal with the fact that it wasn’t exactly moral later.

“Done.” Hermione said, and Pansy looked a little shocked by how quickly she agreed to that.

“Really? Damn.” She responded and Hermione rolled her eyes and shoved her very lightly. Rude.

“Shut up, I’m desperate.” Hermione reminded her, and that seemed to shut Pansy up pretty damn quick.

“Three, we’re gonna make this believable, because I _need_ that money.” She said and Hermione nodded. She could use it herself, honestly. It would be nice to have that once they graduated, even if it was only 10,000 now.

“Alright, whatever you want.” Hermione insisted, and Pansy cleared her throat and leaned back on her palms as she spoke.

“So I’ll walk you to class, carry your books, hold your hand, and kiss you in public, and hold you in the common room. Simple enough.” Pansy said, and Hermione was a little taken aback by how casually she’d said that. It seemed like something that should have a bit more meaning behind it, but she wasn’t about to complain.

“And what do you want in return?” Hermione asked and Pansy chewed on her lip for a moment before she shrugged.

“Just one thing.” She said and Hermione nodded. She was willing to wear a Slytherin uniform to class every day if that was what Pansy insisted on for this relationship… she wouldn’t be happy about it, but she’d do it.

“Anything, Pans.” Hermione insisted, and Pansy’s face got serious as she took another step towards Hermione and cupped her cheek. Hermione swallowed heavily and looked away because this seemed a bit _serious_ for what their arrangement was.

“Don’t fall in love with me.” Pansy instructed, and Hermione noted the look of amusement in her eyes and let out a sigh of relief that Pansy was messing around with her and smacked her hand away. Of course the other girl also knew this was just a professional arrangement and nothing more.

“I wouldn’t _dream_ of it.” Hermione insisted, and she really meant it. She couldn’t imagine a world where she fell in love with Pansy Parkinson… they just weren’t well suited for one another, that's what made this arrangement work.


	2. October 2, 8:30AM

When Hermione awoke the next morning she got the weirdest feeling that she was being watched, which made no sense considering Pansy made a habit of going down for breakfast before she was even awake. But apparently that wasn't her plan this morning, because when Hermione opened her eyes she saw Pansy peering at her over the top of a potions textbook. The Slytherin let out a sigh of relief and dropped the book next to her before standing up.

“Good morning, nice of you to  _ finally  _ join the world of the living.” Pansy sighed as Hermione stretched up and looked over at her with confusion. Obviously she was allowed to still be in here, but it wasn’t like her.

“Hey… don’t you normally go down to the great hall before me?” Hermione asked, fighting through a yawn. Pansy chuckled and nodded, leaning against the wall as she did. Hermione could never understand how she managed to look that put together at 8 in the morning, but she supposed it might be a normal thing for people who don't wake up at the last moment because they didn't go to sleep until nearly dawn.   


“Normally, yes. But it would be odd if I showed up without my girlfriend, and it would give your friends more of a chance to think we aren’t together. Now come on, I’m starving… plus my friends are gonna have my ass.” She sighed, and Hermione nodded, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She could understand Pansy's impatience, this whole arrangement had shifted her day back by at least thirty minutes, and Hermione hated when that happened to her.   


“Right, just let me get dressed-.” Pansy grimaced and cut her off, jutting her chin towards the sink in the corner.   


“Don’t forget to brush your teeth, because if I’m expected to kiss you I’m not dealing with your morning breath… no offense.” Pansy said, and she added the last part a bit late for Hermione’s liking. She rolled her eyes and pulled herself out of bed, stripping out of her pajamas and into her waiting uniform before shooting a glare at Pansy.   


“I’d say none taken, but that’d be a lie.” Hermione grumbled as she pulled her hair from her collar and stalked over to the sink. She'd been planning on doing that anyways, it was a normal part of her grooming routine, but Parkinson didn't have to _say it._

“Mhm, we can deal with your wounded ego later, Granger. Right now, I need some toast.” She sighed, and Hermione gave her a look. Was that seriously all she was eating for breakfast? As long as it wasn't a habit...   


“Toast? Really?” Hermione asked, unable to stop herself from pointing out how small of a breakfast that was. Pansy merely shrugged and nodded.   


“What? It’s a perfectly valid breakfast.” She chuckled, and Hermione shook her head. Maybe some of the time, but at least some fruit or something... she was honestly worried that Pansy didn't get enough of a variety in her diet.   


“You need more than just bread, Pans. It's not healthy to eat that little.” Hermione chastised, and Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes, swinging their arms between them as they walked. It was pretty clear the lecture was falling on deaf ears, but she supposed it never hurt to try.   


“I eat plenty.” Pansy protested, but Hermione simply rolled her eyes. She’d lived with the Slytherin long enough now to know that sometimes she just got distracted and forgot to eat something, it happened. But she’d always hoped Pansy ate a bit more at meals, it was important.   


“Whatever. Come on.” She sighed, and they started down the stairs. The height difference did cause their locked hands to be a bit of an issue but they managed to figure it out quick enough.   


“Right.” Pansy mumbled under her breath, all but pulling Hermione down to the great hall. Hermione would think it an impressive clip, if Pansy weren't so goddamn tall. Once they reached the Gryffindor table, Hermione cleared her throat, causing Ron and Harry to look up at her, and put smiles on their faces that seemed a little pained.   


“Oh, Parkinson. Hermione. How sweet. Will you be joining us?" Harry asked, and Pansy shook her head so fast it was almost comical. And a little bit irritating, would having breakfast together really be that bad? Hermione didn't know if she should be taking offense to that or not.   


“Oh no, I don't want to intrude. But, I figured I’d walk my girlfriend over. I’ll see you later, love.” Pansy said, leaving a kiss on the back of Hermione's hand, which she found to be a bit much, they'd held hands the whole way down and walked in together, that was probably enough. But her assumption was apparently wrong because when she spared Ron and Harry a glance they were sharing a look that meant one thing: Pure trouble. They were going to try and catch Hermione in the middle of her lie.   


“Oh what, no kiss goodbye?” Ron teased, and Hermione raised an eyebrow as Parkinson paused, standing rigid next to her for a moment. Were they actually meant to do that? In front of the entire great hall?   


“I’d kiss Ron goodbye.” Harry said, doing his best to sound as serious as possible, and Hermione rolled her eyes and leveled a glare at him. That little shit.   


“Listen here you little-.” Hermione started, but she was interrupted by Pansy’s heavy sigh, and she felt a tug on her waist as Pansy spun her around. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to Hermione’s lips, going a bit further then she needed to by dipping Hermione down a bit, making the Gryffindor squeak slightly as she groped for the table to keep herself upright. After a moment, Pansy released her and reached down to wipe her lip with her thumb, and winked at her with a smile.   


“I’ll see you later, darling. Meet outside the hall?” Pansy asked, and Hermione blinked, looking up at her. What a causal thing to say after nearly knocking her over not a minute prior. She cleared her throat and nodded, pushing her hair back out of her face.   


“Um… yeah. Sounds great.” Hermione mumbled, and Pansy gave her one last quick squeeze, enough to make Hermione jump, and then took a step back. She had to admit, Pansy played the role of puppy love girlfriend pretty well for someone who was normally so callous.

“Brilliant. See you then.” Pansy said before she turned around to saunter over to her table, leaving Hermione free to sit across from the boys, who were both looking at her with equal parts shock and irritation. They really thought it'd be that easy for them to win.   


“Well I’ll be damned. You two  _ actually  _ seem to be getting along.” Harry said, sounding equal parts impressed and suspicious. Hermione made note of their entwined hands... so they were really going for it. Hermione had to give them credit, they were willing to sell it.    


“Yes, like I said, we’re dating.” She muttered, and Harry cocked his head to the side, the faux concern simply oozing off of him. It sort of made her want to kick him under the table, but she refrained from doing that.   


“Isn’t that going to be difficult, what with the two of you being roommates and all?” Harry asked, and Hermione smirked, leaning forward a bit. Now was the perfect time to see if she could act _at all._   


“No. If anything it’ll be better. No need to sneak out when they’re right there, right?” Hermione said, and Ron and Harry looked at each other and shrugged before Ron shoved another piece of bacon in his mouth, chewing and swallowing before he answered Hermione's question.  


"I suppose not." Ron chuckled, and Hermione sighed and poked at her food for a moment while considering what had just happened. It couldn't have just been her that thought Pansy's kiss was a little... _passionate_ for the great hall, maybe she should put some more strict rules in place. Like... no longer then a quick peck in places that aren't the common room, she didn't need to get detention over a couple thousand galleons.


	3. October 2, 11:00AM

The first problem came when Hermione realized she’d spent a bit too long studying during her free period, meaning she was probably going to be late to Potions… which was on the other side of the school. The second problem came in when she actually  _ entered  _ the classroom, and everyone’s eyes trained on her, and she scanned for an empty seat, hoping for one next to Harry or Ron but they were instead paired together, and the only seat was next to Pansy. That shouldn’t be too hard, they’d worked together in potions before and were actually quite compatible, it was just the  _ look  _ that Harry and Ron were giving her, like this was going to be the thing that busted her lie wide open. Well, she simply wouldn’t have it. And the third issue came in when she realized she’d been paused, staring at the empty seat for far longer than necessary.   


“Ms. Granger, are you going to take your seat or just look at it? Because I’d quite like to get back to the lesson.” Professor Slughorn said, his voice ringing into her thoughts. Hermione felt her cheeks get hot as she nodded and looked down, making her way to the back of the classroom.   


“Right, Professor Slughorn, terribly sorry.” She mumbled, and as she reached the table, Pansy didn’t even look over. She simply moved her papers over to give Hermione space and pulled out the stool without ever taking her eyes off the front of the room. It was actually a little impressive if Hermione was being honest with herself.   


“No need for the apology, just sit down now.” Slughorn said, and she nodded and sat down, glancing over to see a small smirk on Pansy’s face as she struggled to get her potions textbook out and parchment laid down. They Slytherin leaned over and raised an eyebrow, finally looking at Hermione.   


“You’re never late.” She mumbled, and Hermione sighed and nodded. What a wonderful observation that anyone could have pulled out of their ass, she thought. But that was a little rude to say out loud, as it appeared Pansy was merely making an observation.   


“Got held up in the library. Time passes  _ very  _ quickly when I’m studying for our Transfiguration exam.” Hermione whispered back, and Pansy gave her a funny look and shook her head.   
“The one that isn’t for a month?” Pansy asked with a chuckle, and Hermione nodded. She never understood why people were so surprised that she worked ahead. She liked working ahead, she liked being busy, she was a planner. And after a year of not being able to plan anything, it was nice to have that control again.   


“Yeah, I’m ahead so I figured why not, you know? You wanna borrow my notes?” Hermione asked, and Pansy looked taken aback. Hermione couldn’t imagine why, she’d have handed them over if Pansy had asked ever in the past, after all she was used to sometimes sharing notes with Harry and Ron, it had stopped bothering her a long time ago.   


“For real? Yeah, that’d… that’d be great.” She said, and she gave Hermione a little half smile. It was warmer than the looks Pansy normally gave her, which were mostly just tepid glances in their dorm, or eye contact to show she was actually listening when Hermione talked about what had happened out on the road. In that moment, Hermione could see the appeal of someone like Pansy Parkinson, but she was quick to shove that idea out of her head.   


“Okay, cool. What’d I miss?” Hermione asked and Pansy shrugged and hunched over her parchment as she spoke.   


“Not much, honestly. Slughorn’s just been telling a story.” Pansy mumbled as she doodled a little flower in the corner of her parchment. She obviously didn’t think Hermione could see it, because her expression didn’t change and she made no motion to hide it, but Hermione thought it was sweet… someone who tries to be as dark and terrifying as she does, doodling a little daisy into the corner of her paper.   


“Oh good.” Hermione said, and she pulled out her quill. Pansy sighed and nodded, still close to her parchment. Hermione reckoned she’d never seen Pansy so focused on schoolwork, it was interesting.   


“Mhm. I think we’re going to be making draught of peace today. Should be pretty interesting.” Pansy mumbled, and Hermione’s eyebrow shot up. She could’ve sworn they made that fifth year, but it never did hurt to review some, she supposed. From what she remembered, most people did pretty poorly on it.   


“Isn’t that the one that-.” Pansy nodded and sighed, running a hand through her hair. Did she have to make speaking look like some kind of scene out of a goth music video, merlin. Hermione thought she was being rather dramatic for potions class.   


“Can basically kill someone if made incorrectly? Yeah, but what can’t at this point.” Pansy sighed, and Hermione was about to shoot a comeback, but she realized Pansy was kinda right, especially after last year.   


“Fair point.” She sighed, and Pansy pushed away from the table and stood up before turning to Hermione.   


“Okay, you wait here, I’ll get the ingredients.” Pansy said, and walked away, leaving Hermione to be surprised because that was uncharacteristic of her. Normally Hermione was the one who got the ingredients for the sole reason that Pansy didn’t want to. In her contemplation, Hermione felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see Harry leaning over his table.   


“Getting pretty cozy, aren’t you?” He asked and Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to shove him back in his seat a bit. Ron seemed to be suddenly  _ very  _ interested in his textbook, but it was obvious he just didn’t want to get in the middle of it all.   


“Do you ever shut up?” Hermione hissed, and Harry beamed and shook his head, clasping his hands together.   


“Not known for it, no. After all, I’m the chosen one, who’d ever want me to-.” Harry was interrupted by someone clearing their throat, and both Hermione and him glanced over and saw Pansy standing, hand on her hip, a jumble of ingredients in her other hand.   


“Potter. Stop being so… you. Leave my girlfriend be.” Pansy said as she returned to the table, dropping all of the ingredients in front of her. Hermione looked up and expected to see some sort of joking smirk, but was shocked to see a serious look. Merlin, she was really putting her all into this, wasn’t she?   


“Terribly sorry, Parkinson. I was just conversing with my-.” Harry tried, but Pansy put up a hand and silenced him with a slight shake of her head before placing a hand on his table and leaning forward so she was practically nose from nose. Harry gulped and Hermione could see why, she could only imagine that Pansy looked quite intimidating from that angle.   


“You were doubting our relationship again. Which you can do plenty of when we aren’t in class, okay?” Pansy said, her voice low and even, and Harry didn’t even respond, he simply nodded, and Pansy pulled back. Impressive, Hermione thought, that she was able to do all of that with a few words and a look.   


“You know you didn’t have to do that, right?” Hermione asked quietly, and Pansy shrugged and flashed her a quick smile before organizing their ingredients into piles according to the order they needed to be used. Draught of peace’s instructions were very important, so Hermione could appreciate that.   


“Please, what kind of a girlfriend would I be if I didn’t intimidate your friends every now and again.” Pansy said, and Hermione looked at her with surprise, with just enough time to catch the little wink and smile on the end of that. Completely different vibe then she was giving off a moment ago, okay.   


“Okay…” She said quietly, and they worked in silence for a few moments before Pansy sighed and rested both of her hands on the table before looking over at Hermione   


“Oh! That reminds me. You have to meet with Daphne, Tracey and I in the 8th year common room tonight.” Pansy said and Hermione’s eyebrow shot up. What would be the point of meeting with them, unless…. Oh  Merlin, Pansy didn’t...   


“What’d you do.” She sighed and Pansy shrugged and added the next ingredient to the pot, not bothering to look over at Hermione at all. Rude.   


“Told them about us.” She said simply, and Hermione’s jaw dropped. It was a  _ fake relationship _ , Hermione did not see the point in bringing any more people into the know about it, it would make way easier to fuck up.   


“ _ Pansy _ .” Hermione started, but Pansy gave her a warning look and yanked her parchment over, scribbling something in the corner before shoving it back to her.   


“Sh, look at your paper.” She said quietly and Hermione looked down. In small print Pansy had scribbled ‘do you want authentic or not?’ As much as she didn’t want to admit it, Pansy was right. If they wanted to look authentic, Hermione had to meet Pansy’s friends and get their stamp of approval.   


“Right.” She sighed, and Pansy leaned away from the potion and smirked at her. It was unnerving, Hermione realized, just how much she did that. She could’ve sworn it wasn’t a common occurrence.   


“So… 8:00. Don’t be late.” Pansy reminded her and Hermione rolled her eyes. She’s late once and people think that she needs reminders.   


“I won’t.” She sighed, and Pansy shrugged. Hermione could just  _ tell  _ she was thinking up some sort of comeback.   


“Well, I just thought I’d confirm since you’re turning over this new leaf of being tardy-.” She flicked Pansy’s arm and sighed. That was going to be annoying, that whole part of Pansy that was just so…  _ Slytherin _ . Not bad, just different.   


“ _ Parkinson _ .” Hermione warned and Pansy put up a hand in surrender and shook her head.   


“Okay, sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean anything by it, don’t have a fit.” Pansy chuckled as she stirred the potion, and Hermione sighed and rested her head on the table for a moment before looking up at the Slytherin. This might be a long three months.   



	4. October 2, 8:05PM

Hermione didn’t like the stunned silence that she was being forced to sit in as she was stared down by two gape mouthed Slytherins, waiting for Pansy to finish getting changed in their dorm. They looked at her like they hadn’t all had classes together since first year, and it was very obvious they’d thought Pansy was having a joke with them or something when she said that she and Hermione were dating. Obviously she  _ was,  _ but Hermione was fairly certain that neither girl really knew that part of the deal.   


“Sorry, sorry, sorry! Figured you guys wanted me to be fresh, not sweaty from my nightly run.” Pansy said as she breezed into the room, standing next to the couch for a moment as she seemed to survey the scene. The question was on the tip of her tongue… when the hell had Pansy started running? That must be where she always disappears to. But her thoughts were interrupted by someone chuckling across from her.   


“No one wants to be around you when you’re sweaty, Pans. Unless you’ve suddenly figured out the wonders of muggle deodorant in the last year. Honestly, Granger, sharing a dorm with this girl for 5 years before she figured out what perfume was was  _ torture _ .” Daphne said, and Hermione saw Pansy roll her eyes.   


“Oi. Last warning. Sorry dear, I hope they behaved themselves.” Pansy said, raising an eyebrow at Hermione. Oh, she wanted an actual response, okay. Hermione shook her head and shot her a quick smile as the other girl sat down next to her, pressing a kiss to the hollow of her ear.   


“We um, we didn’t say much to each other.” Hermione said, surprised when her voice came out a little shaky, but she supposed that would probably happen if anyone did something that intimate to her in public. Across from her, she heard Tracey snort which effectively broke the spell.   


“Didn’t say  _ anything _ . I honestly thought you were joking when you said you were dating  _ Hermione fucking Granger _ , but I guess not. How did this even happen? Like I know you two are roommates but still… even  _ that  _ seemed like a stretch.” Tracey said, and Hermione honestly didn’t know how to respond. How was she supposed to come up with a whole relationship backstory in two minutes? Luckily, Pansy seemed to be much better at improvising then she was, and she put a hand on Hermione’s thigh and smiled over at her, the smile not reaching her eyes.   


“Well, we sort of just… came to be. I could tell it was possibly heading in that direction since the second week of the year, but obviously  _ I  _ didn’t want to make the first move, that could’ve gone terribly terribly wrong, so I waited. And yesterday Hermione finally made a move, and kissed me… right over there.” Pansy said, pointing over with her free hand at the corridor where they’d kissed in front of Harry yesterday. Hermione heard Daphne chuckle, and she looked over to see a look of… she couldn’t tell if it was disbelief or respect, either way it wasn’t something she was entirely comfortable with coming from Daphne.   


“Merlin, in front of  _ everyone _ ? I’m shocked no one fainted from shock.” She said and Pansy chuckled and swung her legs over Hermione’s lap before laying back on the couch, which made Hermione unsure of where to put her hands. Sure, they were ‘dating’, but it still felt rude to put them on her legs without asking, never mind that Pansy had grabbed her thigh a few moments ago. After a moment of internal worry she set her hands on Pansy’s calves and breathed out a sigh of relief when the Slytherin didn’t look at her like she was insane.   


“No one was really paying attention. I sense they had bigger things to worry about than a classmate's relationship.” Pansy said as she stretched her arms out to lay on either side of her head on the couch. Tracey chuckled and nodded, mirroring Pansy’s positioning before she started talking. Hermione noted how Daphne just immediately knew where to put her hands, and it made her wonder if the Slytherin girls were more affectionate then they were willing to let on.   


“Right, like how the golden boys started dating. I didn’t even know they were gay-.” Hermione cleared her throat and looked up.   


“Bi.” She said quietly and the three other girls looked at her with confusion.   


“What?” Daphne asked, and Hermione cleared her throat a bit more and looked up. It only seemed right to correct the wording.   


“Harry and Ron, they’re both bi.” Hermione explained, and then it clicked in Daphnes head, and she nodded and even had enough decency to flash a small apologetic smile before she continued on    


“Oh, yeah, yeah that's what I meant. Sorry, didn’t mean to come off all… judgy, I was genuinely surprised.” Daphne said, and Hermione nodded, chewing on her lip. Every day with those boys was surprising.   


“I was too.” Hermione mumbled, and there was a moment of silence that just felt thick. Hermione wondered if she should just leave.   


“Darling, I just realized that I left my hair tie in the dorm, would you mind going to grab it for me?” Pansy asked, sitting up rather suddenly and wrapping her arms around her knees. Hermione raised an eyebrow at her because as far as she knew Pansy  _ never  _ pulled her hair back. Hermione honestly didn’t know that she had enough hair to even  _ do  _ that.   


“No of course not. Is it on your side of the room?” Hermione asked and Pansy nodded.   


“Yeah, on my bed. Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.” She said with a grin, and kissed the back of Hermione’s hand before letting her good.   


“... Right.” Hermione mumbled as she walked to their dorm. If there was one thing she had thought, it hadn’t been that Pansy Parkinson would be shockingly good as a fake girlfriend, it would’ve been just the obvious, but over the past 24 hours Pansy had treated her as good if not better than all of her ex’s. It made her realize that maybe this whole arrangement wasn’t going to be difficult, it was easy to last three months when the other person was putting in the work as well. She was able to locate the hairband quickly, and she slid it onto her wrist, careful to lock the dorm on her way out. She was about to round the corner to sit back down when she heard hushed conversation between the three girls, and it gave her pause.   


“-And anyways, I just wanted to make it very clear that if I hear either of you calling her that, I’m not going to hesitate before I hex you, I don’t mind having detention for a few weeks.” Pansy said, and she sounded almost bored as she gave this explanation. Hermione’s cheeks burned as she listened to Daphne scoff.   


“We weren’t going to, all I said was I can’t imagine what Draco and Blaise are going to say.” She sighed, and Hermione grimaced. She was not looking forward to when Draco confronted her, she could only imagine what hateful thing he would have to say about her dating his ex fiance. Fiancee? Fellow betrothee? Hermione didn’t know the right phrasing.   


“They’re going to say  _ nothing  _ because I’m not telling them yet. Draco can be a bit of a drama queen and I don’t need that right now.” Pansy said, and both of the girls were quiet, and Hermione could practically hear them giving each other a look, and she steeled herself for whatever was stated next.   


“Hm. Sounds like you’re ashamed of dating a muggle.” Tracey said, and Hermione’s heart dropped. She knew it wasn’t a real relationship, but if that was the case it might not work even as a fake one. They needed to seem real.   


“What? No. Hermione is as lovely, if not more lovely, then any pureblood girl at this school, and I’ll thank you to never say that shit again.” Pansy snapped, and Hermione was even taken aback by how abrupt and decisive that answer was.   


“Didn’t mean to assume.” Tracey mumbled, and Hermione heard Pansy sniff in annoyance.   


“I’d hope not.” She said, and Hermione took that as her queue and rounded the corner, feeling three sets of eyes on her.   


“Um… here you go.” Hermione said, shoving the hair tie into Pansy’s open hand. She smiled up at her and reached back to pull her hair back in a low ponytail, which looked surprisingly natural, like she’d worn it every day of her life which Hermione knew wasn’t the case.   


“Oh, thank you.” Pansy said, and Hermione gave a curt nod. She wondered if she’d been sent to grab that just so Pansy could have that conversation with her friends.   


“‘Course.” She mumbled, settling down on the cushion next to Pansy, not expecting the bizarre look she got. Was she not supposed to sit that close? She made a move to scoot a little further away, but felt a cold hand wrap around her wrist.   


“What are you doing?” Pansy asked, and Hermione raised an eyebrow. She was fairly certain that what she was currently doing was rather self explanatory, but she’d humor the Slytherin with a response.   


“Sitting down?” She said quietly, and Pansy held her arms open with an expectant look on her face.   


“C’mere.” She said, and Hermione raised an eyebrow. Like yes, they were trying to sell it, not  _ overdo  _ it.   


“Uh… pretty sure I’m as close to you as I can- _ woah _ .” Hermione said, her voice squeaking up on the last word as Pansy wrapped her arms around her hips and easily moved Hermione onto her lap in one fluid motion before tucking her head against her chest. When had she gotten that fucking  _ strong? _   


“That’s better. It’s cold in here and you’re rather warm.” Pansy murmured, and Hermione glanced over at Daphne and Tracey who, again, didn’t seem phased by Pansy’s sudden liking of touch. So maybe  _ this  _ was what it was like to be close with Pansy Parkinson.   


“Um… okay.” Hermione said softly, and Pansy looked up at her with a concerned look on her face.   


“Is this alright, love?” Pansy mumbled against her shoulder as she rubbed gentle circles onto Hermione’s hips. That was something that Hermione had noticed, at least in the very short time of this happening, is that Pansy’s hands always seemed to be moving, she didn’t enjoy being idle for too long.   


“Perfectly fine.” She whispered back, and Pansy nodded and rested her head a bit more comfortably on Hermione, and there was a long silence before Tracey clapped her hands together and smiled a little.   


“Well, I’ll be the first to say it then. I like her. You finally picked a good one.” Tracey said, and Hermione heard Daphne scoff and saw her smack Tracey’s cheek lightly from her spot on the couch.   


“Oi!!” She said, and that answered Hermione’s question about that. It felt weird, suddenly knowing things that were probably meant to be secret about this person she used to despise. It felt a little intimate.   


“I stand by my statement.” Tracey said, grinning up at the blonde. Daphne huffed and looked away with what Hermione was almost certain was a false sort of malice.   


“Prick.” Daphne snapped, and Hermione felt a bit of relief. She’d passed the first test, maybe she’d pass it with everyone else too.


	5. October 3, 10:30AM

One hour of silence. That was all Hermione asked for, is that every Saturday, they could have one hour of silence to themselves, but that seemed to be a struggle for _both_ Ron and Harry today, and Hermione was really annoyed by that, because she’d picked up a very interesting book when she’d last gone to Hogsmeade and she was finally getting around to reading it.

“So Hermione.” Ron said, ruining their brilliant moment of silence in favor of leaning forward to engage in conversation… or to tease her about how no authentic her relationship was, she wasn’t sure which. Hermione sighed and shut her book, kicking her legs up on the table.

“Yes?” She asked and Ron licked his lips and flashed her a grin. It felt like a cocky grin, but she gave him the benefit of the doubt that that wasn’t what it was right now.

“How’re you and Parkinson.” Ron asked, and Hermione took a deep breath and sighed, giving Ron a look. She didn’t blame them for being skeptical, this _was_ one giant lie, but it didn’t make it any less irritating, especially when she was expected to come up with stories of how lovely their ‘relationship’ was going when they’d been ‘together’ for all of a day. Honestly, Harry and Ron’s expectations seemed like a bit much.

“Fine, thank you for asking. She’s lovely.” Hermione said quickly, praying that that would be the end of it. After the conversation with Daphne and Tracey last night, Hermione hadn’t slept wonderfully, mostly because they both felt so… fake. Like yeah, they seemed to like her, but at the same time it had seemed like an act, and Hermione didn’t really want to think about her fake relationship right now. Ron chuckled and shook his head.

“Could not imagine a world where you would say that but here we are I suppose.” He said, and Hermione breathed a silent sigh of relief and settled back on the couch a bit, reopening her book. She’d been at a really interesting section about which enchanted mushrooms were toxic and which had holistic benefits, and she wanted to make sure she actually got to finish it.

“Mhm.” She mumbled, and next to him, Harry shifted and let out a huff, crossing his arms. Hermione raised her eyebrow and looked over her book at him because she was used to a little bit of him being a drama queen, but this seemed like it was uncalled for.

“Okay, when are you going to stop giving us the cold shoulder? I said I was sorry about trying to prove that you and Pansy were faking it.” Harry said, but he didn’t sound sorry at all, so Hermione decided to keep ‘giving him the cold shoulder’, if that's what he really thought it was. It wasn’t, but oh well. 

“Harry, it's been less than a day, and I’m _not_ giving you the cold shoulder. I’m simply not talking to you as much because you were being a goddamn wanker.” She said, and Harry furrowed his brows and let out a frustrated sigh. 

“That… that is the _literal_ definition of giving someone the cold shoulder, are you joking right now?” Harry asked, and Hermione shook her head. She thought not talking to Harry for _less than_ a day did not mean that she was giving him the cold shoulder at all. 

“No. It takes longer than I’ve been avoiding you. I just didn’t want to deal with any more of your jokes. Like you’ve got any ground to stand on telling me my relationship doesn’t seem authentic when you’re ‘dating’ Ron.” Hermione said, careful to put the air quotes around the word ‘dating’. That didn’t sit too well with Ron apparently, who took it upon himself to throw his arm around Harry’s shoulder and glare at her.

“Oi! We’re plenty authentic!” He snapped, and Hermione chuckled and leaned forward, taking her feet off of the table as she did so.

“Really? Then tell me, in as few words as possible, how and when the two of you managed to fall madly in love over the last year of running and war? Because I was focused on surviving.” Hermione reminded them, and both boys looked a bit stricken. Aha, maybe _this_ is where Hermione can catch them, and so early on too. That 10,000 Galleons sounded amazing, even if it _would_ have to be split with Pansy. But the boys didn’t give in, instead they shrugged and looked at each other. 

“It just sort of… happened.” Harry said and Hermione scoffed. Merlin, that was such a fucking cop out and he had to know it!

“You expect me to just accept that?” She asked, and they both shrugged and nodded. They were just being wankers today, weren’t they?

“Pretty much, yeah.” Harry said and Hermione sighed and leaned back on the couch, closing her eyes.

“Ugh fine.” She mumbled, and she was going to open her book again when she felt a cold hand on her cheek.

“Hello darling.” Hermione jumped about a foot in the air and let out a small squeak before whipping around to see a startled and slightly remorseful Pansy. She let out a sigh of relief and smiled up at the Slytherin. She really thought she’d gotten less jumpy over the last couple weeks, and she supposed she had, it used to be that no one could come up behind her without fair warning or she’d get flashbacks to Bellatrix.

“Pansy! Uh, hey!” She said, tucking some hair behind her ear. Pansy gingerly slid over the back of the couch to fall cross-legged next to Hermione, resting her chin on her hand as she gave Hermione one last look over. It was clear that the reaction had sort of freaked her out, and Hermione wasn’t surprised by that. They were roommates, obviously Pansy had seen her night terrors, and probably didn’t want to be the reason she was sent into a waking nightmare.

“Hi.” Pansy said carefully, and Hermione sighed and shook her head. This was exactly why she would act fine all the time, she didn’t want people thinking that she was all fragile because she _wasn’t_ . 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to act so startled-.” Pansy put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head quickly.

“Nonsense, your response was perfectly valid, I had snuck up behind you which is hardly fair to do given the year you had.” Pansy said, and she sighed. Perhaps Pansy was right, a little bit of a response was fine.

“... Right. So whats up?” Hermione asked and Pansy cleared her throat and glanced around before scooting a little closer. Merlin, it looked like she was looking for drugs or something with how secretive she was being.

“I was just wondering if you had the Defense homework done?” Pansy asked and Hermione nodded. She was sure Pansy wasn’t going to copy it word for word, so she wasn’t worried about sharing a little of what she’d written.

“Yeah, it's sitting on my desk in our room if you wanna look it over, get some idea of what's going on in it.” Hermione said and Pansy smiled at her and squeezed her shoulder lightly as they both ignored the boys looks of disbelief.

“Fantastic, thank you.” Pansy sighed, and Ron raised a hand and cleared his throat, clearly not okay with this.

“Hey that's not fair! You hardly ever let us copy your work!” Ron protested, and Pansy took this opportunity to slide onto Hermione’s lap and just make the situation 10,000 times more awkward. Great. This should go well.

“One, Ronald. I never said I was copying my girlfriend's work, I’m looking it over to make sure I’m on the right track. Two, I’m her girlfriend, I’ve got different rights.” Pansy said with a defiant smirk. Hermione flicked her leg as a warning, she didn’t need to play it up so much and Pansy shrugged at her as if to say ‘what?’. Ron made a sound that could only be described as _annoyed_ . 

“You’ve been her girlfriend for a day! We’ve been best friends for _seven years_ .” He said, and Pansy shrugged and shifted further onto Hermione’s lap, tucking her face against her neck before she spoke. 

“And yet neither of you managed to lock her down. Can’t begin to _imagine_ how she managed to avoid all of your charms and griping about having to do homework.” She said, her voice coming out dry and humorless, but Hermione smiled to herself because yeah, that was a little bit funny, and she could remember Ron’s horrid attempt at asking her to the Yule ball. It was no wonder they never worked out. 

“Listen here-.” Ron started, but Pansy sighed and picked her head up, standing up, stretching and yawning before she spoke.

“See, I’d love to do that but I can’t, I’ve got homework. And so do you, Weasley. I’ll see you later, love?” Pansy asked, and Hermione nodded and smiled.

“‘Course.” She said and Pansy leaned forward and pressed a kiss on the top of her head.

“Brilliant. Potter. Weasley. Have a nice study session.” Pansy said curtly, and turned on her heel, disappearing back towards their dorm. Hermione turned back to the two boys and saw a look of confusion on Harry’s face. Was it possible? Had that been enough to finally get him off her back.

“Okay, so that seemed a little more authentic, it's just…” He trailed off and Hermione arched her brow. This should be good.

“Just what?” Hermione asked, daring him to say exactly what he was thinking, but he apparently thought better of it.

“She doesn’t seem like your type. She seems entirely too abrasive.” Harry mumbled, and Hermione chuckled and shook her head. Oh, like he had any grounds to stand on with the people he’d dated. Was Ginny nice? Of course, Hermione considered Ginny a close friend but that girl was _abrasive_ because she had to make sure she was being heard in a large family. 

“Well, she’s not as abrasive as she was before the war, I think it all sort of humbled her, and she's actively worked to be a bit better. And… I mean, it's not like she’s not attractive, you two can’t deny that.” Hermione said, and both the boys shrugged and nodded. That was hard to dispute, especially since Pansy had started running… which seemed like a new habit, or maybe a coping mechanism. Hermione made a mental note to ask her about it sometime. Ron’s voice cut through her thoughts and she turned her attention back to her friends.

“Sure, she’s hot, but that doesn’t make the two of you compatible.” Ron said, and Hermione rolled her eyes. Really, since when did Ron care about stuff past looks? She could remember his little fling with Lavender in sixth year.

“Oh? And what makes you two so compatible? Harry’s freudian-like love of red hair?” She asked, and Harry gave her a warning look as Ron looked between the two of them, clearly lost in the conversation.

“Freudian?” Ron asked, cocking his head. Right, wizard history was different. Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to think of a nice and appropriate way of saying what she was thinking, before she realized there wasn’t one. She just had to say it.

“He’s got mommy issues!” Hermione sighed, and Harry’s jaw dropped open in protest as he scoffed. This was common knowledge, Hermione was sure of that, but it seemed like Harry had a different opinion.

“I do not!” Harry protested, and Hermione could only chuckle. If there was one thing she could be sure of in being Harry’s friend for almost a decade at this point, it was that he had mommy issues. It was really just a simple fact, no reason for him to get so frustrated by her stating it.

“Oh _really_ ?” Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow, fully ready to remind Harry that his last girlfriend had not only been ginger, but was also Ron’s _goddamn_ sister, and that should be classified as a little bit weird. Harry’s face turned progressively redder as he tried to think of what he was supposed to say. 

“I… shut up!” Harry said, his voice cracking on the last word. Hermione exchanged a look with Ron, and the redhead seemed to be struggling to keep his laughter in just as much. Because it's funny, the savior, the boy who lived, ended up with _Mommy_ issues. No one would’ve thought it. 


	6. October 3, 2:00PM

It was nice to finally have some alone time, it felt like over the last two days Hermione had been surrounded all the time and while she loved her friends, she also had a need to keep her grades up. But the alone time and silence didn’t last long.

“‘Mione!” She heard someone yell, and she looked up to see Ginny booking it towards her table, looking a little determined.   


“Hm? Ginny! Hey, whats up?” Hermione asked, closing her textbook when she saw the look on Ginny’s face. She looked pissed, this should be good. She pointed an accusatory finger in Hermione’s face and huffed.   


“Don’t act all sweet and innocent, why didn’t you tell me you started dating Parkinson? I had to hear about it from Ron and Harry, and that just feels… wrong.” She said, and Hermione raised an eyebrow, slowly lowering Ginny’s finger. This felt like an overreaction to something so small.   


“We  _ literally  _ kissed in the great hall yesterday… were you not… did you not see that?” Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow. She was genuinely curious, because if Ginny said no then maybe it wasn’t as ‘in your face’ as Hermione had originally thought, and she didn’t have to talk to Pansy about some different boundaries. Ginny sighed and shrugged, running a hand through her hair.   


“I wasn’t paying attention, I was hardly awake!” She protested, and Hermione sighed and rested her chin on her hand. That hardly felt like something that was  _ her  _ fault, but Ginny did look rather upset, so she’d let it slide.   


“Okay, well I’m sorry.” She mumbled, and Ginny took a deep breath and shook her head, reaching over to take one of Hermione’s hands. Well, there goes studying for Potions, she thought as she looked up into Ginny’s eyes.   


“ _ Merlin _ , it's fine. It sounds like I’m more upset at you for telling me then I am excited that you found someone. I’m not, by the way. Not more upset, I think it's terrific that you’ve met someone you like… even if it  _ is  _ the person who tried to turn Harry over to the Dark Lord last year.” Ginny mumbled, and Hermione winced at her comment. She was scared that her friends were going to bring that up, and it was completely a fair thing to bring up. But she did believe that Pansy was changing, she hadn’t said anything all year that Herimone would consider extremely inflammatory, and had even started using her first name… she was making progress.   


“She’s matured a lot-.” Hermione started, and Ginny chuckled and nodded, kicking her legs up on the table, much to Hermione’s annoyance. That was fine in the common room but it felt rather rude to do it in the library.   


“Oh I don’t doubt that, doesn’t mean I  _ love  _ her. But I am willing to try and get to know her, because you deserve to have people supporting you, not just my brother and Harry harassing you about how they think you’re faking it.” Ginny pointed out, and Hermione let out a sigh of relief. Someone believed it was true, that would have to mean they were getting better at putting on the facade… after all, it  _ had  _ only been two days.   


“Yeah… thanks.” She said, and there was silence for a moment, but just when Hermione was about to bend back over her book, Ginny drummed her fingers on the table and leaned forward again, breaking her concentration.

“So…” Ginny trailed off, prompting Hermione to sigh in defeat, her studying would have to wait. What was this about now?   


“So?” She asked, and Ginny grinned, practically leaning onto Hermione’s textbook. The older girl huffed and leaned back, putting a bit of space between them.   


“When do I get to formally introduce myself?” Ginny asked, and Hermione raised her eyebrow. She’d seen Ginny butt heads with Pansy before, over bullying Neville or Luna, or just for being an overall bitch.   


“I’m sorry, was fighting in the hallways and practically bashing her head in last year when she fucked up  _ not  _ enough of a meeting for your liking?” She said with a chuckle, and Ginny groaned and rested her head on her forearms. Hermione didn’t know why she was embarrassed, Pansy had completely deserved what Ginny did before the war last year, it was just funny to think she’d need a new introduction.   


“Well I’d prefer to have a different introduction. Granted, she completely deserved the hits I landed on her.” Ginny said and Hermione nodded. She was completely in favor of all the times Ginny had stood up for people, that wasn’t what this was about at all.   


“I didn’t say she didn’t.” She reminded her, and Ginny sighed and nodded, leaning back in her chair and resting her chin down on her chest.   


“Right, right.” Ginny mumbled, and Hermione felt odd, having the conversation only focusing on her. It was uncomfortable to say the least.   


“How are things with Luna?” Hermione asked, desperate to turn the spotlight off of her. The question seemed to take Ginny off guard because her head snapped up and Ginny watched as her ears quickly turned a little pink.   


“What do you mean?” Ginny asked and Hermione let out a laugh and shook her head. Was she not supposed to see something so obviously written all over every single one of their interactions?   


“ _ Please _ , the two of you have been dancing around each other ever since the war ended, and you cannot pretend like you didn’t kiss her before the battle, Ron and I literally saw you.” Hermione reminded her. She’d had to hold Ron back with that one, mostly because he thought Ginny and Harry were sort of still together, but once Hermione quickly talked some sense into him he let it go. Ginny’s face flushed a deep shade of red and she looked away from the other witch.   


“You cannot confirm nor deny  _ what  _ you saw.” Ginny mumbled, and Hermione sighed and raised an eyebrow. Was she  _ seriously  _ going to be this way right now? It was downright childish behavior and she knew it!   


“ _ Ginevra _ .” Hermione said, her voice firm. She needed to stop Ginny from spiraling further down a pit of denial, it wasn’t healthy for her.   


“What?” She muttered, and Hermione sighed and leaned over, taking one of her hands in both of hers, prompting Ginny to look up.   


“You like her. You’ve liked her for a long time, even when you were dating Harry it was clear you had a crush on her.” Hermione said, and Ginny didn’t respond for a long moment, but when she did it was just a quick shrug of her shoulders.   


“So?” She said, and Hermione rolled her eyes. She should not have to coax Ginny along through this, she’d had boyfriends before.   


“So go for it! What's the worst that could happen. Because Luna Lovegood is not going to write you off over some unrequited feelings.” Hermione said, and she meant that. Luna was remarkably understanding, and she did love Ginny, that was clear. Romantic or not.   


“I don’t know I guess…. I’m just scared that if she doesn’t feel the same way our friendship will be ruined.” Ginny confessed, and Hermione sighed and nodded. It made sense, that kind of fear was very common.   


“C’mon, that's not always the case. I mean, look at Ron and I, right? We’re still friends.” Hermione said, and Ginny snorted and shook her head, which Hermione found to be a little rude. Sure, Ron and Hermione’s story was a bit… unorthodox but that didn’t mean it needed to be ignored.   


“You two are a special case… Mum still thinks you’ll get married one day.” She said and Hermione winced and shook her head.   


“Not a chance. He’s sweet, and he’s one of my best friends but that's  _ never  _ going to happen.” Hermione said, and Ginny nodded, smiling a little bit. Hermione knew all the Weasley kids had tried to explain the break up (Could she even call it a breakup when it was mostly just a war induced kiss?) to her, but it didn’t sink in.   


“Oh, both Ron and I have tried telling her that, she just refuses to listen.” Ginny said and Hermione sighed.   


“Molly is rather persistent.” Hermione mumbled, remembering just how heartbroken Molly had been that Hermione and Ron decided that they worked better as friends. She was pretty sure Molly hadn’t spoken to her at all the week after, and while she eventually made her peace, Hermione could tell that there was a different layer to her voice then there used to be, like one of betrayal, it was odd.   


“You’re telling me. She still thinks that Harry and I are getting back together once we finish school. Like he’s lovely, and I’ll always love him as a friend but… I just can’t see myself spending the rest of my life with him.” Ginny said, and Hermione nodded. That made sense, they were well suited for a short relationship, but it didn’t seem like a sure thing that would last forever.   


“That’s completely fair. But Luna on the other hand….” Hermione said with a smirk and Ginny whipped her quill at her and huffed.   


“Shut up about Luna!” Ginny instructed, and Hermione put up her hands in surrender. She could take the hint to stop teasing right now… she’d just pick it up later.   


“Fine, fine. I'll stop. But only if you promise to talk to her.” Hermione insisted.   


“If Ginny promises to talk to who?” A voice rang out behind Hermione, and she jumped and turned around, relieved to see it was just Luna, but Ginny seemed to be at a total loss for words, which is fair, saying they were talking about her did seem like a bit much.   


“Uh…” Ginny trailed off, and Hermione rolled her eyes, and decided to just put her out of this misery.   


“Sprout. About her Herbology grade, she’s got an Acceptable, bordering on Dreadful right now, and she wants to bring it up to an Exceeds Expectations by the end of term, but she wants me to stop harping on her about it.” Hermione said, and Ginny’s eyebrow raised, clearly impressed by how easily that lie had rolled off of her tongue. It wasn’t a big lie, plus it wasn’t a huge stress, Ginny  _ was  _ struggling in Herbology right now, but she’d told Hermione to leave her be about it a while ago.   


“Exactly, I’ll figure it out.” Ginny sighed, and Luna pulled up a chair and sat down next to Ginny, practically as close as she could get. Hermione could practically see the nervous swallow from the youngest Weasley. Well, this should be entertaining if nothing else.   


“Well, if it's not intruding too much, I could help you with Herbology.” Luna offered, and Hermione smirked and leaned forward on her hand, interested in how this would turn out. Ginny shook her head and shot Luna a quick smile.   


“Oh no, Luna it's okay-.” Ginny started, but Luna put a gentle hand over hers and smiled. Hermione watched, amused at how Ginny couldn’t look the other girl in the eyes, she kept her gaze trained on the table.   


“Please, I insist! Neville taught me quite a bit when I was in fifth year, and it would be nice to put it into practice.” Luna said, and a grin stretched across Hermione’s face as Ginny looked over at her. She mouthed ‘say yes’, but it didn’t seem to sink in.   


“Well-.” She started, but Hermione interrupted her.   


“She’d love to.” She said, and she didn’t miss the glare that Ginny sent her way, but honestly she was doing her a favor. Luna’s smile grew bigger and she threw her arms around Ginny in a quick hug before standing up.   


“Great! I’ll see you later, Ginny… and you look positively beautiful today, by the way.” Luna said, before turning on her heel to go. Ginny froze for a long moment before speaking, long enough that Luna was gone when she finally spoke.   


“Oh uh… thanks. You too.” She said, to no one in particular now. She looked so lost that it was almost funny to Hermione.   


“Okay. Tell me  _ very slowly  _ how telling you that you look ‘positively beautiful’ isn’t flirting? Because to me it really sounds like flirting.” Hermione said, and she watched as the tips of Ginny’s ears turned red and she shook her head quickly. Merlin, at this point she was  _ trying  _ to put her head in the sand about this.   


“No because Luna doesn’t mean it like that. She just talks to everyone like that.” Ginny insisted, and Hermione raised her eyebrow. Really?   


“Hm. Well I’m not meaning to push but she didn’t call me ‘positively beautiful’... just you.” She said, and Ginny’s mouth opened and closed a few times before any sound actually came out of it.   


“Yeah… well…. Shut up!” She said, her voice coming out in an uncharacteristic squeak. Oh, this was fun.

“Hm. Why would I do that, I’m having fun.” Hermione said with a sly smile, and Ginny gave her one more warning look and rolled her eyes.   


“If this is what it's like for you to date a Slytherin then I no longer approve and I urge you to break up with her immediately.” Ginny insisted, and Hermione chucked and opened her mouth to speak, but someone else beat her to it.   


“Why does she need to break up with me, Weasley? I haven’t done anything incriminating.” Pansy sighed as she appeared next to their table. Merlin, Hermione couldn’t help but wonder how she walked so quietly.   


“Oh! Hey.” Hermione said as Pansy sat down in the seat next to her, pulling her knee under her chin as she glanced between the two girls. Ginny let out a frustrated sigh and rested her head on her arms.   


“Because you’re turning her into a sarcastic wanker.” She said, her voice coming out muffled. Hermione hardly thought that was fair, she hadn’t said anything that wasn’t completely true.   


“Oh please, telling you that a girl likes you is hardly me being a wanker.” Hermione sighed, and watched as Ginny gawked at her. Was she really not expecting her to defend herself?   


“ _ Hermione _ .” Ginny hissed, and Hermione heard Pansy chuckle in a way that wasn’t condescending, more knowing, but she saw Ginny’s eyes narrow. She supposed that was fair, it was hard to tell the difference.   


“Weasley, she didn’t even have to tell me. It’s so clear when you two send  _ nauseatingly  _ pining looks across the great hall. I swear, it feels like I’m intruding just by sitting at my table.” She sighed, and Hermione didn't disagree. Sometimes when she sat near Ginny it was like she wasn't even hearing anything, just staring at Luna.   


“Right well… When did you start taking a liking to Hermione? Thought you hated her.” Ginny said, narrowing her eyes. Hermione sucked in a breath because this could be the thing that sank it. On only the third day. But Pansy merely chuckled and slid her hand over Hermione's on the table.   


“Well, I mean I think my first interest peaked during a Hogsmeade trip in fifth year. She was wearing these jeans that accentuated her figure very well and a red sweater, and something about her just looked nice in a way I’d never seen her look nice before, save for the yule but I had honestly thought that was a fluke, and I think from then… in the back of my head… I’d always found her attractive. But also, you can’t tell me it wasn’t hot to see her fight in the war.” Pansy smirked, and Hermione felt her face flush. Was she being for real right now? Hermione couldn’t get her to look over so she could confirm or deny, which was a little bit bothersome considering that was  _ quite  _ a confession if it was true. Ginny didn’t seem to pick up on the tenseness and simply laughed.   


“Oh of course it was, we all love a war hero.” Ginny said, and Pansy smirked and leaned her back and head against Hermione’s arm, slouching a little lower in her chair. But Hermione hardly noticed, she was too focused on what Pansy said, because if that had been true and not a lie… their dynamic could be thrown  _ way  _ off.   


“Well, not  _ everyone _ , but most people I think would agree with that.” Pansy said, and Hermione looked down at the table as her cheeks reddened. She didn’t think that was very true, she’d met plenty of controversy after the war, and no one was knocking down her door to date her   


“And you’re not going to hurt her, right? Because I’ve got five living brothers that will come after you-.” Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes, interrupting Ginny.   


“-And I’ll get harassed by Peeves on behalf of Fred’s ghost.” Pansy said in a bored voice, and Ginny looked at her, obviously surprised.   


“How’d you know that?” She asked, and Pansy shrugged, examining her nails as she spoke.   


“Please, Ron gave me the same lecture when I was walking here. Literally jogged to catch up with me and tried to sound scary. It didn’t  _ work _ , but I’ll give him credit for trying. I’m more wary of you and your threats then him and his. Feel like you’re more likely to follow through, plus you’ve beaten me bloody before over  _ one  _ comment, you’re more fiery.” Pansy said, and Ginny’s smile faltered a bit at the reminder of last year, which Hermione didn’t doubt had been grim inside the school walls. But after a moment, her cocky look was back and she nodded.   


“Damn right.” Ginny said, sounding a little too proud of herself.   


“It’s not my intent to hurt her, but if it happens, then I fully accept my fate of being mauled to death by six redheads and one ghost man.” Pansy said solemnly, and Hermione had to hold back a chuckle. Just on the ghost man part, because yes, Fred's passing was a tragedy, but it was just an interesting way to phrase it.   


“Might wanna make that eight, my parents love Hermione.” Ginny said, and Hermione opened her mouth to remind Ginny that she and Molly were still a bit at odds, but Pansy spoke before she could.   


“Fine, eight then. Sound like a deal?” Pansy asked, holding her hand out over the table for Ginny to shake. She hesitated for a moment before shaking it quickly, which Hermione knew was a sign that Ginny was willing to try. Not that she doubted that she would, it was just nice to have confirmation, didn’t need protective friends messing up her fake relationships by throwing in their real feelings. Speaking of real feelings… Hermione made a mental note to ask Pansy if that was just a very elaborate and detailed lie, or if it was actually something she’d been hiding, because if it was, this arrangement might not work.   


“Hm… yeah, seems fair.” Ginny said, shaking Hermione from her musings. Pansy let an easy smile spread across her lips and pushed herself out of her chair. So she  _ hadn’t  _ needed to be in the library. A little weird, but Hermione supposed not out of the ordinary if they were supposed to be considered a couple.   


“Good. Hermione, I’ll see you upstairs later?” Pansy asked, and she looked up and nodded, giving her a small smile.   


“Mhm.” She said, and Pansy leaned down to kiss the top of her head before straightening and flicking her hair back over her shoulder.   


“Great. Later, Weasley.” Pansy said, offering a friendly wave. Ginny nodded in recognition and waited until Pansy was out of sight before turning her attention back on Hermione.   


“Bye! You’re right, she does seem nicer. And who knew that  _ Pansy Parkinson  _ has had a crush on you since fifth year? That’s insane!”   


“Yeah it's… it's pretty crazy.” Hermione mumbled, feeling her stomach churn a bit as she remembered Pansy’s warning. ‘ _ Don’t fall in love with me’.  _ Had she been joking or foreshadowing something, now it was hard for Hermione to tell and it was stressing her out. Ginny looked at her with some concern.   


“Are you okay?” Ginny asked, and Hermione looked up and sighed. What could she really say? Any conversation about what Pansy had said would definitely reveal that they’re putting on a facade.   


“Yeah, I’m just a little tired.” She lied, and Ginny pressed her lips together in concern and stood up, holding a hand out to Hermione.   


“Let me walk you to your dorm-.” She shook her head and reopened her textbook, skimming some chapter on binding spells.   


“No, I’ve gotta finish this.” Hermione insisted, even though that wasn’t even the chapter she was on. There was silence for a moment, before Ginny sat back down in her chair.   


“Okay, well I’m not gonna leave you here, so I can walk you up when you’re done.” She said, and Hermione rolled her eyes. Was that really needed?   


“If you insist.” Hermione sighed and Ginny nodded curtly.   


“I do.” She said and Hermione pressed her lips together in annoyance. And there’s that chivalry everyone’s always on about in their house.   


“Fine.” She finally said, and then Ginny let her work in silence, thank Merlin.


	7. October 3, 8:00PM

The question was still plaguing Hermione’s brain. Had Pansy meant what she said in the library earlier? She wanted to ask,but she didn’t want to intrude on Pansy’s time relaxing, because from what she could tell, next to running every night, reading through a muggle fashion magazine seemed to be the only other thing that helped Pansy relax.

“Are you just going to stare at me all night or are you going to say whatever the hell is on your mind, Granger. Spill.” Pansy said in a bored tone, not even bothering to look up from her magazine. Hermione felt her cheeks burn as she quickly glanced away from her, honestly she hadn’t even noticed she was staring, she’d just been so deep in thought.   


“No, sorry. I didn’t mean to stare.” Hermione mumbled, suddenly realizing how stupid it would be to ask her about that. Why should it matter if she maybe had thought Hermione was hot in the past? She clearly didn’t anymore, and that's what should matter. But apparently, Hermione’s quick switch wasn’t enough for Pansy, who leaned forward a little bit, still holding her magazine open.   


“Yes you did. So can you please tell me what you’re thinking about right now?” Pansy asked, and Hermione had to give her points for at least attempting to seem interested. Well, she supposed it would never hurt to ask, or else she’d just get stuck wondering.   


“Did… did you mean what you said in the library?” She asked, and Pansy raised an eyebrow, the room going silent for a moment, which was not helping Hermione’s nerves. Just say something, anything because this was making it weird.   


“Probably. Which thing?” Pansy finally asked, and Hermione picked at her blanket as she spoke.   


“When you said I was hot back in fifth year.” Hermione said, trying to sound as disinterested as possible. Pansy cast her magazine aside and scoffed, sitting up a little bit. She had a look that just screamed ‘how ridiculous.’   


“What? No, of course not. I was playing along, couldn’t exactly leave you out to dry, what kind of a partner would I be?” Pansy asked, cocking her head to the side. Hermione sighed and averted her eyes, almost embarrassed to have even asked, because of course she’d meant nothing by it. Not that Hermione had wanted her to mean anything, that was the agreement.   


“Right… right.” She muttered, and there was silence in the room before Pansy let out a long sigh and pulled her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them as she spoke. It made her look so small, and almost approachable.   


“Oh come on, Granger. I don’t think you’re ugly you’re just… you’re not exactly my type.” Pansy said with a chuckle, and Hermione raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit annoyed at the way she’d said that. Like it was  _ so  _ hard to believe that Hermione could be someone’s type. Like it was impossible for someone like Pansy to like her.   


“And who is? Daphne Greengrass?” She said, her voice coming out with a bit of venom in it. Pansy looked taken aback by this and raised an eyebrow. Hermione thought that was fair, she  _ had  _ gotten mad for no reason.   


“No, we broke up last year, she’s honestly far too similar to me.” Pansy confessed, and this threw Hermione for a loop. They’d make sense as a couple, both elite, both aloof.... Okay yeah, maybe a bit too similar, but still.   


“Really?” Hermione asked, and Pansy was quick to nod. Fair, Hermione had also dated her best friend and had it not work out for her.

“Really. I’m far more likely to date like… Tracey… or someone not in my personal group entirely then go out with Daph again. I love her to death, but we were SO wrong for each other.” Pansy explained, and Hermione nodded. Okay, that did make a bit of sense. She thought for a moment and realized that would probably be like dating a copy of herself, which just sounded wrong.   


“I can see that, you both kinda have that aloof, ‘I’m the queen of this world’ type of vibe.” Hermione admitted, and Pansy shrugged, clearly not taking offense to Hermione’s reading of the situation, which had to mean there was some sort of truth to it.   


“Well, when you grow up in a manor with a trust fund and a lack of love and affection from your parents, that attitude sort of comes with the territory.” Pansy explained, her voice bored. But the words that she spoke sort of made Hermione’s chest ache. It wasn’t uncommon, she was learning, for the more high-society purebloods to grow up in a bad home life, but she’d never really asked Pansy about it. She’d just assumed the other witch didn’t want to get into it, there were plenty of things that people were choosing to forget after the war.   


“I suppose so.” Hermione admitted, and there was a long silence before Pansy spoke again, which was fair. The conversation  _ was  _ technically over.   


“Why were you wondering?” Pansy asked, and Hermione shrugged. If she was being honest she didn’t know why it was so important to her to know, besides the integrity of their agreement being held up.   


“I don’t know, curiosity.” Hermione tried, and Pansy chuckled, arching an eyebrow as she crossed her arms.   


“You seem to have a lot of that.” Pansy mused, and Hermione felt her face get hot. That was a way to say ‘mind your own business’, she had to give her that.

“Is that your way of saying I ask too many questions?” Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow and Pansy nodded. Well, at least she’s honest, that is a virtue.

“Mhm.” She mumbled, and Hermione rolled her eyes. She was thinking about telling her off, saying that that wasn’t fair, but she decided there was a far better way to be handling this then anger.

“Fine. You get one free one, ask me anything and I’ll tell you.” She said, leaning back against the wall next to her bed. The Slytherin seemed to light up at this offer, her smirk growing ever wider.

“Okay…. Oh! Did you ever have a crush on Ginny because you two seem  _ really  _ close.” Pansy said, and Hermione blinked, surprised. No one had ever asked her that before, and honestly, she’d never really given time to consider it either way. Ginny was Ron’s sister, she was off limits… After all, Hermione had seen the slight drama with hers and Harry’s relationship, she did not want to be on the receiving end of Ron’s overprotectiveness of his little sister.

“I mean… no. Well… maybe for like a minute in sixth year, but my emotions were all confused because I liked Ron at the time and he was obsessed with Lavender Brown. So I think my brain was just trying to fill the void.” She explained, chuckling a little at how intense sixth year had really seemed back then. To think that not even a year later she’d be on the road hunting down horcruxes… everything seemed small after that. She was shaken from her musings by Pansy’s light chuckle.

“If you can’t get the boy, get his sister. I can respect that.” Pansy said, and this made Hermione grimace. Surely there was a way to say that that  _ didn’t  _ make her feel like she’d been using Ginny in some way, even though they never dated.

“Okay, ew. No. Not what I meant at all.” Hermione said, wrinkling her nose. That hadn’t been her intent at all.

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with it-.” Pansy started, but Hermione shook her head. There was a lot she was willing to compromise on, but it really felt wrong to consider dating someone’s sibling because you couldn’t have the person you want.

“There’s  _ everything  _ wrong with it! That’s like saying I’d fuck Ginny and pretend it was Ron.” Hermione protested. That had not been what she meant when she decided to explain the mess of sixth year, but it seemed to amuse Pansy all the same.

“Not unheard of. When I-.” Hermione shook her head. There were a million ways that that sentence could end and none of them seemed like they were going to be good things that she wanted to hear.

“Oh Merlin I don’t know if I have the strength to hear this.” Hermione groaned, covering her face. She heard Pansy giggle -which she wasn’t aware the Slytherin even  _ did _ -, and she heard the creaking of her bed as Pansy walked over and grabbed both of her wrists, pulling her hands down to look at her.

“All I was going to say, if you would  _ listen  _ is that when I had a crush on Daphne I flirted with Astoria. Never ever did anything, but it was for sure enough to get her attention.” She explained, and that was enough to make Hermione go mute for a moment.  _ Flirting  _ with your crush’s little sister? That sounded like something Hermione could never do, would never do… and she didn’t quite understand why Pansy would.

“You terrify me.” She muttered, and Pansy gave a smirk of approval before releasing her wrists and straightening up, stretching towards the ceiling before she dropped back down on her bed, picking her magazine back up.

“That’s the goal.” Pansy said, sounding all too proud of herself as she flipped a page in the magazine. Interesting conversation, Hermione had to give her that, but it felt like she was forgetting something. Oh shit. That’s right.

“Have you done the potions homework?” Hermione asked, and Pansy gave her a funny look as she again lowered her magazine a couple of inches. Oh, this should be humbling in some sort of way.

“Yeah. It’s due tomorrow.” Pansy reminded her and Hermione groaned and covered her face. She’d forgotten the due date, that was so unlike her. For some reason she’d had it in her head that it was due in two days.

“Shit.” She sighed, and when she dropped her hands she saw the look of pleased shock on Pansy’s face as she shuffled to the edge of her bed.

“Wait. Hold on, I want to savour this.” Pansy said, a cocky grin painted on her face. Hermione rolled her eyes and rubbed her temples, remembering once again that  _ yes  _ Pansy was indeed the same Slytherin who used to be a complete dick. She still absolutely had her moments.

“Savour  _ what _ ?” Hermione snapped, and Pansy shrugged, crossing her arms across her chest, looking too cocky for her own good.

“That I got my homework done before Hermione Granger.” She teased, and Hermione rolled her eyes. Wanker.

“Shove off!” She said, wanting to ignore that her voice went up a bit at the end. She was embarrassed, of course she was. She hated forgetting to do her work. But Pansy must have just taken that all as frustration, because she raised her hands in surrender and let out a long breath.

“Alright, alright. You ruined the moment. Do you wanna borrow mine?” Pansy sighed, and Hermione was quick to shake her head. After all of the lectures she’d given the boys about never cheating? She’d look like such a hypocrite, and she couldn’t have that happening, it's bad for the self esteem.

“Oh I couldn’t-.” She started, but Pansy simply shook her head and sighed, pushing the hair out of her eyes as she spoke.

“Sure you could. Just don’t copy it word for word and it should be okay. Daphne, Tracey, and I used to trade work all the time, I promise I took my time on it and the answers are correct.” Pansy said, and Hermione paused for a moment. She’d never had to paraphrase off of someone’s work before, and once probably wouldn’t kill her.

“I… okay. Fine. I don’t have the time to do it all by morning, so that would be really helpful.” Hermione admitted, and Pansy stood up and walked over to her desk, digging through some papers before finally finding what she was looking for, and sliding it over to Hermione. Hermione scanned the paper and was a little bit shocked at just how neat Pansy’s handwriting was.

“Here. And if you get stuck, just ask.” Pansy said, and Hermione nodded, chewing on her lip. This shouldn’t take too long, at least. That was good.

“Okay…” She sighed, and let them fall into a comfortable silence, Pansy’s nose back in her magazine and Hermione focusing on the work in front of her.


	8. October 7, 11:00AM

Herbology used to be interesting, but recently it had become a bit stale, almost dull because Hermione had already read most of the textbook, and listening to Sprout go over every painstaking detail sort of felt like a waste of time. This was an odd development considering that before the war she would’ve given anything to have teachers go this in-depth, it made it easier for her to be on top. But now… it bored her. But she wasn’t about to let anyone know that, so she still sat straight up, trying to look as attentive as possible, even as her table mate seemed hellbent on distracting her.

“Hermione… hey…  _ Granger _ !” Pansy hissed, and Hermione rolled her eyes and put her quill down, looking over at the Slytherin with a raised eyebrow. She was not surprised to see Pansy’s head resting on her forearms, after all she wasn’t sure she’d seen her write a note down this entire class.

“Yes?” She asked, and Pansy looked up at her and sighed. She was probably just bored, which Hermione could do without having to deal with. They had a test on this stuff in three days, she needed to pay attention.

“Can I borrow your notes in the dorm tonight?” Pansy asked, and Hermione sighed and shook her head. She knew she should say no, but mostly she was interested in why Pansy asked her, she could’ve asked Daphne and Tracey and just done that in the common room, they were far more likely to hand it over.

“Why?” Hermione asked, and Pansy sighed and shrugged, doodling a little star in the corner of her empty parchment.   


“Because I can’t bring myself to focus enough to actually take decent notes. Plus your handwriting is  _ way  _ better than Professor Sprouts, I can read it way easier.” She explained, and Hermione smiled a little at this. It was a good compliment, knowing that her handwriting made notes easier to read, she always worried about that when the boys had to borrow them, that they’d be illegible.   


“... I suppose so, but I still want you to read the chapter in the textbook, I can’t be doing all the work for you.” Hermione insisted, and Pansy smiled and wrapped an arm around Hermione’s shoulders and kissed her cheek lightly before patting her other cheek. That was a bit more then what Hermione thought was needed as a thank you for letting her borrow some notes.   


“Ugh, thank you. I’ll take what I can get at this point.” She whispered, squeezing Hermione’s shoulders once more before she let go and settled back down. Hermione stopped over analyzing the touch long enough to see that Pansy had closed her eyes and rested her head back on her forearms, which simply wouldn’t do. She reached over and flicked the girl’s ear, almost chuckling at the whine of disapproval as the Slytherin slowly opened her eye and glowered up at her. In this moment, Hermione could shrink them back to third year, when they’d been forced to sit next to each other in potions. If that girl knew that in five short years she’d be pretending to  _ date  _ that prissy, stuck up, asshole… she’d probably pass away on sight.   


“And  _ don’t  _ go to sleep right now! Seriously!” Hermione hissed, and Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed, pushing herself back up on her elbows. Merlin, it was a miracle that Hermione had been able to put up with her antics for a week already with no large outbursts.   


“I-.” The Slytherin tried, but Hermione held up a hand to silence her. Absolutely not.   


“You can’t claim you didn’t sleep last night, we share a dorm and you fell asleep before I did.” Hermione pointed out and Pansy grumbled and rolled her eyes, slouching down in her chair before she cast a glare up at Hermione. She had to admit, Pansy’s glare wasn’t as intimidating when she’d seen her singing along to muggle music. Everything became a bit less intimidating.   


“Okay, but I didn’t get  _ enough  _ sleep.” Pansy complained, and Hermione raised her eyebrow. According to her calculations, Pansy had been asleep for around 10 hours last night, which was more than Hermione had managed to get all week. It was actually quite impressive that Pansy could keep her grades up with how much she slept.   


“Merlin, how much is enough for you?!” Hermione asked, and Pansy shrugged, sighing as she looked forward. Honestly she couldn’t be shocked if the other girl said 17 hours or something like that, she probably got to sleep like a princess all the time before the war.

“Twelve hours. Beauty sleep, Granger. You think skin this nice just comes from sitting around and stressing out about homework or wars or tests? No.” Pansy said, and Hermione couldn’t help but think that that was a bit of a stab at her habits. Well, it wasn’t easy staying at the top of her class at all times, and Pansy should understand that and not joke about it. That’s  _ rude. _

“You are  _ impossible _ .” She insisted, and Pansy gave her a half smile before looking back down at the table.   
“That is my best trait.” She sighed, and Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by Professor Sprout clearing her throat rather loudly, and when Hermione looked up she saw the pointed look in their direction. Great.

“Ms. Parkinson? Ms. Granger? Do you have something to add to the discussion.” Professor Sprout asked, and Hermione was quick to shake her head.   


“Um, no ma’am. Sorry.” She mumbled, but Professor Sprout waved her off.   


“It’s alright, just please refrain from interrupting in the future.” The Professor said, offering them both a quick smile. Hermione felt her face start to burn as she looked down at her parchment and sighed.   


“Absolutely, my apologies.” She heard Pansy said, and she looked over at her with a heavy glare.   


“Look what you did!” Hermione hissed, and Pansy raised her eyebrow and scoffed, shaking her head.   


“Look what  _ I  _ did? You could’ve easily ignored me.” Pansy snapped, and Hermione rolled her eyes. This is the thanks she gets for being nice.   


“Don’t make me take back your right to borrow my notes.” Hermione threatened, and Pansy looked a little shocked at this threat. Hermione didn’t know why, she had to have heard her use it on the boys before.   


“You wouldn’t _dare_.” She said, sounding scandalized, and Hermione bit back a smile because okay, the other witch was being a  _ little  _ funny, she could admit that much.

“We  _ both  _ know that I would.” Hermione said with a light chuckle, and Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Right.” She muttered, and for ten blissful minutes, Hermione had a perfect silence from her table mate. She used it to her advantage to actually copy down what Sprout had written because it might be of use to her someday, she didn’t know. And then, as if breaking through a spell, she felt a tap on her shoulder and glanced over to see Pansy smirking at her. This should be good.   


“Look in the corner of your paper.” Pansy said, jutting her chin towards Hermione’s many notes. When she looked down she saw that the other witch had still not written any notes but had managed to draw a rather detailed flower on the corner of Hermione’s paper. She could appreciate the artistic talent it took, but she was also trying to focus on the task at hand.   


“Pansy!” Hermione said, giving her a look. For her part, the other witch looked a bit surprised at Hermione’s outburst, like she wasn’t expecting it. Maybe she was actually trying to be friendly with that… even so, not the time.   


“What? It’s a  _ flower.  _ It’s not like I drew a dick or anything… I mean I could if you wanted me to-.” Hermione shot her a heavy glare and crossed out the flower, yanking her notes back with a huff. Merlin, was she 12?   
“Absolutely not.” She snapped, and Pansy rolled her eyes.   


“Ugh, you’re no fun, I'd almost rather sit next to Weasley.” Pansy sighed, and Hermione glared at her. It was like she was intent on pissing her off during this class, honestly. And to her credit, it was working quite well.

“I’ll have you know that I am  _ plenty  _ of fun.” Hermione hissed, and Pansy rolled her eyes and settled her head back down on her forearms.   


“Sure. Whatever you need to sleep at night.” Pansy chuckled, and Hermione sighed and shook her head, questioning again if she really wanted to do this for three months just for… a very large sum of galleons, of course she did. But that didn’t mean she had to not have fun with it.

“Merlin, I’m going to charm your bed to periodically throw you out of it if you don't  _ shut up _ .” She said through gritted teeth, but Pansy didn’t seem too bothered by this threat, she almost seemed to find it funny.   
“Oooo testy. Nice.” Pansy teased and Hermione rolled her eyes for what felt like the millionth time in one class period. She was shocked she hadn’t pulled a muscle yet.

“Shut up, Parkinson.” She sighed, and miraculously, the other witch listened, mostly because she fell asleep soon after while pretending to pay attention, but at this point Hermione no longer cared, so long as the other girl just let her work.


	9. October 11, 7:00PM

It had been far too long since Hermione had actually gotten some time to herself, but she’d finally managed it. Pansy was out for a run, Ron and Harry were on a ‘date’, and she was free. Or so she thought.

“Hermione Granger. Just the girl I was looking for.” Blaise sighed, settling in across from her, and as much as the common room is fair space for all, Hermione really just wanted to tell him to fuck off. But, instead she decided to see this out.

“What do you want, Zabini?” Hermione sighed, and the boy shrugged, crossing his legs at the ankles.   


“Oh, nothing serious. Just wanted to check in on how that little relationship is going with our dear Pansy.” He said smoothly and Hermione let out a heavy breath. How was this any of his business?   


“It’s going fine, she’s actually a perfect girlfriend so far. Sweet, if not sometimes a little oblivious.” Hermione lied, and she didn’t know why Blaise seemed to believe that. Pansy Parkinson was pretty far from oblivious.

“Sounds like her.” Blaise admitted, and Hermione’s brow arched. Is that so?   
  
“Really?” She asked, and Blaise nodded, folding his hands together as he explained.   


“Mhm. Back in the day, she was probably the most naive out of all of us. She thought she was straight, she couldn’t tell that Daphne liked her and Draco didn’t, and she was obsessed with Unicorns.” Blaise said, a wide smile spreading across her face. This seemed like a trap, like he was being too nice, so Hermione was careful to keep on her toes, glancing around to see if any of her friends had entered the common room, but alas they were still alone. Well, she hadn’t hexed anyone in a while, it could be fun.   
  
“Is that so?” Hermione asked, and Blaise nodded, leaning forward again so he could easily speak more quietly.   


“Don’t tell her I told you, but she used to dream about owning one, just thought they were mystical beyond belief.” Blaise explained, and while that was rather hilarious, Pansy didn’t see how it mattered to their current conversation.   


“Wonderful. So, did you come here  _ just  _ to tell me random shit that Pansy would probably murder you for, or did you have a real reason.” She asked, keeping her voice flat, and the wizard chuckled.   


“Real reason.” Blaise insisted, and Hermione wanted to kick herself for even asking instead of just making him leave.   
“State your business, I’m very busy.” Hermione sighed, and Blaise cleared his throat and straightened up, like he was about to present something of the utmost importance. Hermione had to admit, she was actually pretty intrigued.   


“So… I know that you and Pansy haven’t  _ gotten  _ anywhere yet. Not because she told me, just because it's easy to tell. In short… I wanted to offer my services.” Blaise said, leaning back and folding his hands together on his chest. Hermione looked up from her homework and raised an eyebrow because this prick could  _ not  _ be serious right now.   
  
“Excuse me?” She asked, knowing her voice sounded low and angry, but Blaise didn’t seem to care, he just flashed her another  _ stupid  _ grin.   


“As a surrogate hookup. Think of it like… very classy prostituiton, not like the low class women in the streets.” He explained, but the explanation only further aided Hermione in getting pissed off. Did he  _ genuinely  _ think that was a good idea?   


“Wow. Okay. One, sex workers are completly valid and they aren’t ‘low class’. It’s a job, Zabini. Get the fuck over it or shut up about it, I really couldn’t care less which it is. Two, no. I’m not going to fuck you just because my girlfriend and I haven’t had sex yet, thats our choice. We’re taking things slow.” Hermione snapped, feeling oddly upset that someone would even ask that. Honestly, its extremely insensitive to be guessing about someone’s sex life to begin with but to do what Blaise did? Just plain rude.   


“Slower than a snail's pace.” Blaise snorted, and Hermione stopped herself at the last second from launching her textbook at his smug face. She’d never been  _ this  _ angry at him, mostly because she barely knew him. And that made it weirder! She barely knew this man, and here he was asking something  _ very  _ intimate of her. That’s weird!   
  
“It’s been less than two weeks!” Hermione protested, but Blaise merely shrugged and sat back up a bit, resting his chin on his palm.   


“Yes, and by now she had already slept with Daphne-.” Hermione rolled her eyes. Honestly, she was a little sick of hearing about Daphne, -not that she hadnt been perfectly nice when they were formally introduced, she was just getting on her nerves.   


“I don’t  _ care  _ what she did with Daphne, alright? Just… get out of my face.” Hermione sighed, leaning back in her chair. What a dick. A dick who, apparently, couldn’t take being turned down because Blaise merely sent her a condescending smile    


“Come on, Granger-.” Blaise tried, but before he could finish, Hermione saw a flash of black hair as Pansy slid over the back of the couch, somehow still managing to land gracefully. The logic of that alluded Hermione, she should’ve fallen flat on her face.   
  
“Blaise. Fancy seeing you here. Is he bothering you, love?” Pansy asked, the look on her face questioning. Oh, she could actually  _ tell  _ Hermione was upset. Well, that was probably a good thing considering it didn’t seem like Blaise was going to leave out of Hermione’s personal insistence.   


“No, I was just-.” He started, and Hermione cleared her throat and leveled a glare at the boy.   


“Yeah. Yeah he is, quite a bit actually.” Hermione snappe, and Blaise faked offense.

“Rude.” He said and Pansy rolled her eyes and stretched in her seat.   


“Well, no matter. I’ll just take care of  _ that _ .” Pansy tsked, standing up and taking Blaise by the shoulder, dragging him away despite the protest. Hermione watched as they spoke in hushed tones for a moment, Pansy’s face an unwavering expression of annoyance until Blaise threw up his hands and stormed off.

“Thanks.” She murmured as Pansy took her seat beside Hermione again, flicking her hair behind her ears before speaking   


“No problem. What was he bothering you about? He refused to tell me.” Pansy asked, and for a moment Hermione thought that she was just being polite, but no. She seemed to really want to know, but Hermione didn’t want to taste the words.   


“Um… It's really not important.” Hermione mumbled, and Pansy snorted and rolled her eyes.   
  
“Come on, tell me. I can guarantee I’ve heard it before.” Pansy said with a smirk and Hermione fiddled with the edge of her paper. Maybe she  _ should  _ tell Pansy, after all the Slytherin would probably better know how to handle the situation.

“He was…  _ offering his services _ because we haven’t slept together yet.” Hermione said, wrinkling her nose in distaste. Pansy, for her part looked shocked, and then a little miffed as she leaned forward to quiet her voice.   


“You  _ told  _ him that?” Pansy asked, and Hermione was quick to shake her head. Merlin, that would be  _ wildly  _ private information if they were in a real relationship, that would be a red flag that this wasn’t something good or even remotely healthy.

“No, he said he could tell.” She explained, and watched as Pansy’s gaze grew steely in a heartbeat.   


“Ugh, what a prick, I’m gonna kill him.” Pansy growled, and stood up to storm after Blaise. But before she could go, Hermione shook her head and caught her wrist, sort of wanting to keep the peace. It wasn’t as if Blaise was  _ terrible _ ,he’d just made one shitty comment.

“Pansy, it's fine.” Hermione insisted, and the other witch groaned and shook her head. Why was this such a big deal?   


“It’s  _ not,  _ this reflects badly on both of us.” Pansy sighed, and Hermione rolled her eyes. She didn’t realize sex was such a big deal in relationships with Pansy Parkinson, but if what Blaise said was true… she supposed it made sense.   


“Okay, how does it reflect  _ badly _ ?” Hermione asked, and Pansy sighed   


“Well… okay. Basically, it would make more sense for me to have slept with you then not, we’ve been sharing a dorm since the beginning of the year, and it's not like it would be altogether an unbelievable thing.” Pansy explained, and Hermione snorted indignantly. Really? How full of herself  _ was  _ she to think that just being around her would make Hermione sleep with her.   


“Yes it would, because  _ I’m  _ not the type to sleep with you just because you fancy yourself to be a little charming, I have standards after all.” She reminded Pansy, and the other witch’s mouth dropped open in shock.   


“Oi! I’m at least  _ slightly  _ your type, I’m at least  _ slightly  _ everyone’s type, and you cannot deny that I’m charming when I want to be. Also, lay your head down.” Pansy insisted, and Hermione did it cautiously, mostly because she was tired. It was nice, and she made a mental note to ask Pansy what perfume she wore because she smelled heavenly. Hermione might have to steal that at some point.   


“Okay… and you see, that right there is the key word. When you  _ want  _ to be.” Hermione insisted, and Pansy rolled her eyes    


“Shut up for a moment, will you?” Pansy asked, and Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes, looking up at the Slytherin who seemed to be thinking hard about something.   


“Right. So how do we get him off our trail.” Hermione prompted, bringing Pansy back into the conversation with a large grin on her face. Okay, so she’d figured out whatever had been bothering her.   


“I’ve got the perfect idea. Tomorrow morning, before heading down to breakfast, we switch ties.” Pansy said as she busied herself with running her fingers through Hermione’s hair. It was incredibly relaxing, and actually completely welcomed after what had just happened.   


“Why?” Hermione asked, and Pansy offered nothing, but a shrug.   


“Make it look like we dressed in a rush, like we were too  _ busy  _ to be paying attention to what tie we’d put on.” Pansy explained, and Hermione opened her mouth to disagree, but thought for a moment. Most people they were trying to fool were oblivious enough to believe that, even if she herself would not be.   


“That… is actually kind of genius.” Hermione admitted, even if she did see many ways that it could fail and many ways that it absolutely would  _ not  _ kick Blaise off their trail, it would be a good start.   


“Wow, what a glowing review. I’m glad you think I’m capable of thinking of stuff thats at least not  _ slightly  _ stupid.”    


“It was a  _ compliment _ you prick.” She sighed, and Pansy rolled her eyes again   


“Right. So, are you in?” She asked, and Hermione nodded. Anything to get Blaise off her trail.   
  
“‘Course. I don’t exactly want Blaise ever offering to fuck me again. It was… surpremely uncomfortable.” Hermione shuddered, and to her annoyance, Pansy laughed. But she did notice it was more of a mirthy laugh and not really a laugh of finding the situation actually funny, so that was a good thing.   


“I don’t doubt it, the boy lacks the ability to be subtle.” Pansy sighed, and Hermione raised an eyebrow.  _ Blaise _ lacked subtly? Has she met herself?   


“Seems like a defining Slytherin trait.” Hermione said with a smirk, and the hair stroking stopped immediately. Oh, she’d hit a nerve.   
  
“Oi! I will let you lose this bet.” Pansy warned, and Hermione smirked and put her hands up in surrender.   


“Fine, sorry, sorry.” She said, grinning up at her. This wasn’t too bad.


	10. October 12, 7:00 AM

This has to be the stupidest idea she’d ever agreed to. She didn’t know what the hell she was on last night, but no one was buying this. Hermione sighed and leaned on her wall, watching as Pansy finished her ‘tousled’ look.

“Are you absolutely sure this’ll actually work?” Hermione asked, and Pansy chuckled and nodded, tightening the Gryffindor tie she had around her neck.   


“Yeah, pretty damn sure. Who’s gonna question the fact that we’ve slept together?” Pansy asked, and Hermione shrugged. Anyone with half a brain would could pick up that this was a ruse… which so far was no one.   


“Well, we do live together and a wardrobe malfunction is always possible.” Hermione reasoned, and Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes, giving her a look. Hermione was surprised to see that the other witch wasn’t wearing her normal make-up, probably something about how if she’d had time to do her makeup, they would’ve had time to notice the tie mix up. Smart, she was thinking about details.   


“Yeah, but not probable. It hasn’t happened yet.” Pansy pointed out, and Hermione supposed she was right, but there was still a part of her that was a bit nervous that someone would easily pick holes in this, it was a very flimsy plan, very last minute.   


“But still-.” Hermione started, and Pansy cleared her throat and chewed on her lip.   
  
“Fine, you wanna pick this apart? Come here.” Pansy sighed, sounding a little frustrated. Okay, a lot more than just a little, but still. Hermione raised an eyebrow and walked over slowly, still very aware that there was a time not too long ago that Pansy would’ve hexed her for disagreeing.   


“... Okay.” She said apprehensively, and Pansy was silent for a moment, she seemed to be surveying her as she sighed.   


“Do you know how to leave a hickey on someone?” Pansy asked, and Hermione’s eyes widened a bit as she looked away. Of course she didn’t know, it wasn’t like she’d really had much practice in  _ that  _ department before the war.   


“I… um…” She stammered, and Pansy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest.   


“So I’ll take that as a  _ no,  _ not that I’m surprised. So… Move your hair out of the way, ‘Mione.” Pansy said, her voice coming out very business like, and like she wasn’t bothered by what exactly she was asking. Hermione, on the other hand, was appalled. This felt like it should go against the rules, and even if it didn’t it was just plain uncomfortable.   


“What?! Absolutely not.” She said, sounding more scandalized then she had meant to.  


“It’s purely business, I don’t want to be doing it either, but it will make it all the more realistic.” Pansy explained, and Hermione took a moment to consider. She knew that if she said no again, Pansy would probably let it go… but also, it would make this whole flimsy idea a lot more solid.   


“... Fine.” Hermione sighed, and leaned her neck to the side, holding her hair out of the way as Pansy leaned in. The first thing she noticed was that Pansy smelt  _ really  _ good, which was a little surprising because she hadn’t even seen the other witch put on perfume this morning, that was just  _ her _ . Hermione was a tad envious, honestly. And the second thing she noticed was that Pansy was abnormally good at this, like she’d had tons of practice -which, if she was meant to believe rumors and reputations, she had-, and it actually didn’t feel terrible. Okay, it felt  _ really  _ good, but Hermione supposed that was probably just the human reaction, most people’s necks are sensitive, people applying pressure to certain spots is going to feel good. And when Pansy finally pulled away, a self satisfied smirk on her face, she was a little shocked to see more than one angry red spot on the nape of her neck. She could’ve sworn Pansy had only done the one, and when she touched it, she was surprised that it hurt, people talked about them all the time, but she didn’t expect it to be sore… Okay, so she should’ve because it's technically a bruise but still.    


“There, now was that so hard?” Pansy asked, effectively shaking Hermione out of her thoughts as she glanced over at the Slytherin witch who was leaning against the wall beside her.

“Uh… no. I-I guess not.” Hermione said, clearing her throat after hearing how rough it sounded. Must’ve been from sleep. Pansy flashed her a quick grin and took a step back, gesturing to herself with a raised eyebrow.   


“Awesome, now… does my hair look messed up enough to believe that we just rolled out of bed and had to rush down to the Great Hall because we lost track of time?” Pansy asked, and Hermione observed her for a moment. Of course she didn’t look rumpled, when did  _ Pansy Parkinson _ ever have the decency to look like she’d taken anything short of three hours to do her hair.   


“No, just… there you go.” She said, roughing up the other girl’s hair a bit. Pansy took one more cursory glance in the mirror and seemed to approve.   


“Thanks. Now c’mon, at this rate we actually  _ could  _ miss breakfast.” Pansy grumbled, and Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, taking her outstretched hand and allowing the other witch to pull her out of the dorm. They walked down to the Great Hall in mostly silence, and didn’t say much as Pansy dropped her off by her table, just a quick kiss. Once she was seated, Hermione realized with some pleasure that both the boys seemed to be speechless.   


“Ahem… ‘Mione…” Ron said, seeming to be the first one to be able to shake himself out of the stupor   


“Yes? Is there something wrong with my appearance, Ronald?” Hermione asked, knowing that her voice sounded rather stinted and unnatural. She’d never been a very good liar about the little things. But Ron merely seemed shocked as he pointed his fork at her collar and cleared his throat.   


“Your tie…” He said quietly, and she raised an eyebrow, taking a sip from her cup before speaking again, not bothering to look down. Did that make it less believable? No time to dwell on that, it wasn’t  _ her  _ friends that she had to convince with this stunt.   


“What about it?” Hermione asked, as though this question was  _ completely  _ unexpected, and she noticed Harry choke on a laugh as he patted Ron on the shoulder.   


“It’s not yours, is what he means. Think you and Parkinson had a little mix up and… do you not know how to cover that shit? Merlin, woman.” Harry breathed, and Hermione did her best to look confused as she felt around her chest for her tie. This felt ridiculous, honestly how were they supposed to believe that she made it all the way down here without once looking down at her tie? Or that she was supposed to not know that the hickies were visible?    


“What are you… Oh! Shit, I could’ve sworn I told her to not go for the neck, but you know Slytherins. Constantly surprising you.” Hermione said in an easy voice, and Ron cleared his throat and shook his head, looking like he was going to be sick.   
  
“Whatever, just go return her tie before I lose my appetite. And talk to Ginny, she might know a spell to get rid of those, Merlin knows there was a time she needed it.” Ron snorted before taking another bite of his food, which was promptly coughed up in surprise when he was hit in the head by a flying slice of toast.   


“I heard that!” Ginny shouted, and Ron rolled his eyes.

eyes, casting a glare at his sister   
“Wasn’t trying to stop you!” Ron shouted back, which earned him a seat on the back of his head from Harry. Good, Hermione didn’t have time to lecture right now

“I’ll be right back.” She sighed, standing up and walking with purpose to the Slytherin table so she could tap Pansy on the back, as discussed, and switch ties back.   
  
“Oh, I was just coming to see you. Seems we had a little mix up this morning, darling.” Pansy said, and it practically came out as a purr, which for some odd reason sent a shiver down Hermione’s back. Odd, normally that only happened when she  _ liked  _ someone, but that wasn’t the case here. Must just be cold. She pulled off Pansy’s tie and put it in her outstretched hand.   


“Seems we did. Oh, and your hair… I swear I told you that there was time to brush it.” She said, jutting her chin up, and Pansy did her best to look surprised as she flattened it down. Hermione had to admit, the Slytherin was a  _ far  _ better actor than she had been.   
  
“We woke up so late, didn’t want to be any later.” Pansy said, and Hermione rolled her eyes and reached up, carefully arranging Pansy’s short hair until it was as close to her normal style as possible.   
  
“okay, that's better.” She said, and Pansy offered her a smile and bent to lightly kiss her cheek   


“Thanks.” Pansy murmured, and Hermione nodded. It seemed like people were buying it, so that was good.   


“Mhm.” She muttered, and they were silent for a moment, that is until someone cleared their throat.   
  
“So Granger… how was it?” Daphne asked, a wide grin on her face as she bit into an apple. Hermione rolled her eyes and half expected Tracey to tell her friend to leave it alone, but apparently today was the day they  _ both  _ wanted to be wankers because when she looked back down there were  _ two  _ pairs of curious eyes staring up at her. She looked over at Pansy who shrugged. Unbelievable.   


“I’m not talking to you two about this.” Hermione grumbled, taking a step back. Before she could actually walk away though, Daphne grabbed her arm and hauled her back, eyes shining like she’d just found something that she simply  _ had  _ to know. It was weird, yeah thats what Hermione was going to go with.  _ Weird. _   


“Come on! We’re her best friends, it's not like it's  _ weird _ .” Daphne insisted, and Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head. She would rather be drowned in the black lake then have this conversation with Daphne Greengrass.

“It’s very weird, this conversation is not happening.” Hermione insisted, slowly backing away from the table. She heard a scoff as she turned around and was not shocked to hear Daphne’s voice ring out loudly behind her.   


“You act like walking away stops the fact that we now share a common room!” Daphne yelled, and Hermione was going to offer a retort, but before she could she heard the other witch let out a yelp  
  
“Leave her be, Daph. Honestly.” Pansy sighed, and Hermione couldn’t help but smile to herself. It was hard to admit it, but Pansy actually made a pretty good fake girlfriend. Whoever would actually end up with her was going to be so lucky.


	11. October 14, 10:45PM

It is incredibly difficult to focus on studying when it feels like every joint in your body is on fire from sitting so still. That’s what Hermione was thinking right now, and it was odd because normally she didn’t even feel it, but it was like… the added stress of the fake relationship was making her realize how tense she was  _ unintentionally _ , because she’d become far more tense with the possibility of being found out around every corner.

“Granger, you okay?” Pansy asked quietly, looking over from where she was filing her nails with what Hermione could only describe as actual concern. It shouldn’t take her by surprise anymore, they’d been friends for a while… but it was still shocking that someone who used to be Malfoy's shadow was  _ her  _ friend.

“Hm? Oh, yeah. Shoulders are just a little sore right now.” She murmured , bringing her hand up to try and prod at the muscle before wincing and stopping. It hurt too much to deal with right now.

“Merlin's sake… Come here.” Pansy said, setting her nail file aside. Hermione raised her eyebrow and cleared her throat.

“Why? I’m busy.” Hermione said, and Pansy rolled her eyes and sat up, patting the empty space on her bed between her thighs, as if that gesture was meant to carry something with it. It didn’t, at least not in Hermione’s mind.

“Bring your textbook and sit in front of me. I can help the tension.” Pansy sighed, and Hermione paused for a moment. On one hand, her shoulders  _ were  _ killing her… but on the other, getting up and moving right now would break her concentration and that wasn’t a great idea. But the pain was already breaking her concentration so…

“Alright. Alright. Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Hermione asked, not wanting to put herself in a position where she was going to get hurt, and getting a massage from a non professional isn’t the safest.

“Mhm. Blaise and Draco used to come in from quidditch with really messed up shoulders, I learned how to give a pretty good massage starting third year. Trust me, in a couple of minutes you won’t even feel the tightness anymore.” Pansy said with a chuckle as Hermione settled in front of her, leaning forward so as to not touch her, she didn’t want to push any boundaries. She heard the Slytherin snort and pull her upright before she felt hot breath on her ear

“Can’t reach you if you’re all the way over there, love.” She murmured, and Hermione felt it again, the shiver. But she chose to ignore it and not go down  _ that  _ rabbit hole. Her eyes slid shut as Pansy began gently massaging the sore muscles. It felt amazing, honestly. It wasn’t often that Hermione actually took the time to think about  _ how much  _ tension she really held, but judging by the feeling of the massage it was quite a bit.

“ _ Fuck _ that feels good.” Hermione groaned, letting her head loll back a bit. She heard Pansy clear her throat and felt the other girl shift around. She felt guilty upon realizing she’d slumped back a bit, definitely invading Pansy’s personal space.

“Sorry, I can shift up.” She murmured, trying to resume her straight posture, but she felt Pansy’s grip tighten a bit.   


“No, you’re actually at a good angle here. I was just… sitting weird, just wanted to get more comfortable.” Pansy said quickly, and Hermione noticed the slight edge to her voice. Not anger, but for sure some form of panic.   


“You sure?” Hermione asked, and she heard the other witch let out a laugh behind her.   


“I’ve got no issue telling you to move, Granger.” Pansy pointed out, and Hermione felt her face flush. Right, because her roommate had grown up without having to have consequences if she was too pushy. Probably without consequences for anything, honesty the only time Hermione could remember her actually having something happen for what she’d done was fifth year after the twin’s prank when she’d sprouted antlers… otherwise, nothing came to mind.

“Right.” Hermione sighed, looking up at the ceiling as Pansy’s fingers felt down her spine, somehow always finding the most sore spots on her body. That had to be some kind of talent, Hermione thought, and maybe she  _ should _ do this professionally. 

“You alright?” She murmured and Hermione was quick to nod before realizing she probably shouldn’t be nodding, what with the neck connecting in some way to the shoulders… she didn’t want to throw off Pansy’s rhythm.   


“Mhm. You’re actually like… really good at this, Parkinson.” Hermione said, and Pansy let out a quiet chuckle.   


“Thanks. I've been told that I’m rather good with my hands.” Pansy said, her voice coming out sort of like a purr, and Hermione’s eyes shot open. Was that  _ meant  _ to sound as inherently sexual as it did? Pansy was good with her  _ hands _ … she supposed it did pertain to the topic at hand, and it could’ve meant a million things, so she let it slide. Now, if she had said she was good with her  _ tongue _ , then Hermione would’ve said something, but that wouldn’t have made sense, she realized, and she was spiraling and had been silent for far too long.   


“Uh… yeah, I guess so.” She murmured, looking down at the pattern on Pansy’s blanket, willing herself to slowly disappear because she was  _ for sure  _ the one making this awkward. But she was pulled from her musing by Pansy letting out a small sound that Hermione had come to associate with her being proud of herself as she lightly tapped Hermione’s shoulder and let her hands drop.   


“Okay, I think I found the issue.” Pansy said quietly, and Hermione raised her eyebrow and tried to look back at the girl, realizing that that was a futile effort as it would’ve taken twisting her entire body, something Pansy probably wouldn’t have been too happy about as it would practically leave them nose to nose.   


“Oh?” Hermione asked, and Pansy  _ probably  _ nodded, but it wasn’t easy to tell when there was no way to see her.   


“Your entire back is like one  _ giant  _ knot, and I can help you but… we’re gonna need to change positions.” She explained, and Hermione shrugged. That actually made a lot of sense, she seemed to carry her stress in her back and shoulders.   


“Okay, so… where do you need me right now?” Hermione asked, and Pansy cleared her throat and looked away as she spoke. Odd, she wasn’t normally the shy type, and there wasn’t a reason to be shy right now.   
“Lay down on your stomach.” She said quietly, and Hermione raised an eyebrow because the only way that was going to work was if Pansy was  _ literally  _ on top of her… but maybe she had a different way, who’s to say?   


“Uh… alright.” Hermione murmured, and shifted into position, resting her head on her forearms. She let out a small sound of surprise when Pansy swung a leg over her and settled across her hips.   


“All good down there?” Pansy asked, and Hermione nodded. It wasn’t uncomfortable, and she should’ve expected it, honestly. But that didn’t stop her from being taken by surprise.   


“Mhm.” She muttered, and Pansy let out a long breath, sounded like some sort of sigh of relief, but Hermione didn’t know what she had to be relieved about.   
“Perfect. I’m giving you fair warning, this is probably going to hurt a lot. Seems like you’ve got a lifetime worth of tension built up.” She explained, and Hermione rolled her eyes. Was that Pansy’s way of telling her she was too stressed out? Because that wasn’t something she needed to be told.   


“Oh shut up, you wank- _ ah _ .” Hermione hissed, pounding her fist on the mattress as Pansy hit a particularly tender part of her back. She honestly had no idea that she was this tense but… seven years of trying to avoid death at the hands of an evil overlord was bound to have  _ some  _ residual effect, she supposed. And that was the last coherent thought she really had for a bit as she just let herself relax into the massage. Eventually though, she heard Pansy swear above her and tried to look over her shoulder. Was something wrong?   


“Don’t worry Granger, haven’t done anything that's gonna cause damage. It’s just… never mind.” Pansy said, and Hermione raised her eyebrow. Well, now she was curious.   


“No, tell me what it is.” She insisted, and Pansy sighed and sat back a bit, probably running her hand through her hair like she  _ always  _ did when she got stressed over something small.   


“It’s hard to get as deep as I need to when there’s clothing in the way. It’s a lot easier on bare skin. But if you’re not comfortable-.” Pansy started, and Hermione shrugged. She saw no reason to be uncomfortable, Pansy was simply providing a service and obviously she wanted it to be easy on her.   


“Oh, that's fine. I’m assuming you did this with Blaise and Draco too?” Hermione teased, and Pansy paused, like she was actually trying to think about it. Hermione considered telling her that it was just a joke, she wasn’t actually questioning her methods but before she could, Pansy shrugged and nodded.   


“Actually yeah, a few times I think. I swear, those boys are walking, talking, balls of stress. It’s quite funny actually.” She chuckled, and Hermione realized that Pansy was still straddling her hips, which made it difficult, if not impossible, to move.   


“I’m gonna need you to get off for a moment so I can actually take off my shirt.” Hermione pointed out, and that seemed to embarrass Pansy a bit as she rolled off of her and cleared her throat a bit.   


“Oh, you can just push it up a bit-.” But she didn’t get to finish her sentence before Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes, simply yanking her tshirt over her head and ignoring the small sound of surprise from the other witch. It wasn’t a huge deal, she was wearing a bra. And quite frankly, if guys can walk around shirtless, then it shouldn’t be an issue.   


“It’ll probably be easier this way.” Hermione said, and she noticed Pansy swallowed rather heavily and looked up at the ceiling, drumming her fingers on either side of her bed as if it was difficult for her not to look. Honestly, Hermione couldn’t figure out why. They’d changed in the same room a million times, it wasn’t as if they were  _ strangers  _ to how the other person looked, but she supposed this was the first time that either of them had actually shown the other person.   


“Ahem… right. Lay back down, ‘Mione.” Pansy said, her voice sounding a little rough as she did. Hermione had heard that tone on her before, normally a couple days before she came down with a cold, so she made a mental note as she laid back in position to make her some tea later. It wouldn’t stop it from happening, but it could ease the pain. She’d been a bit too wrapped up in her thoughts, she realized, as a particularly painful spot was hit again and she let out a gasp and gripped onto the blanket beneath her.

“Merlin, it's like you’re  _ trying  _ to kill me!” She groaned, and heard Pansy let out a light chuckle and increase her pace.

“Oh please, if I was actually trying to kill you, you’d know.” Pansy mused, and Hermione raised an eyebrow, tempted to ask what the hell that was supposed to mean, but instead she let out a low groan as she finally felt one of the spots release in her back, alleviating some of the pain she’d been feeling. It was like magic. She then felt Pansy’s hands wandering back up her back to her shoulders, and resuming their movements, just with less pressure. It felt  _ heavenly _ , and before she could stop herself, Hermione let out a sound that could only be described as a moan. At least Pansy had the decency to stop, and Hermione to blush and bury her face back down on the bed. For a long moment they sat in the  _ most  _ uncomfortable silence before Pansy resumed her movements, and Hermione tried her best to ignore the fact that she’d just moaned under her friend. Merlin, this was just shaking out to be quite the awkward experience, wasn’t it? After another couple moments of complete silence and Hermione making  _ very  _ sure that she kept any noises that were trying to escape her body to herself, she felt Pansy gently move her hair to the side and froze as she felt light breath on her cheek, followed by soft lips. She kissed a small line to the corner of Hermione’s mouth, at which point she stopped, probably in part because there was nowhere else that she could reach at that moment, and hovered there. Before Hermione’s logical brain could catch up to her body or emotional side of her brain, she moved over a bit until she was settled on her back and lifted herself up, pressing a tentative kiss to the Slytherin’s lips. For the first time since they’d started this arrangement, Hermione really made herself  _ think  _ about how that felt. Pansy’s lips were soft, that was something she knew, obviously they’d kissed before, but it felt… right. Like something she was supposed to be doing for some time before that, but instead she’d been ignoring it. Neglecting actually  _ feeling  _ anything to ensure they could and would win the prize. But as she felt Pansy’s fingers thread into her hair and pull her a bit closer, the prize money couldn’t have been further from her mind, honestly how was she supposed to be thinking about that right  _ now _ with Pansy’s entire being seeming to surround her like a veil. Merlin could only know how long they stayed there, entwined before the pain in Hermione’s back from the awkward angle became just a bit too much and she slowly pulled away and pressed her forehead against the other witches, trying to slow her breathing down. That’d been rather intense, and to Hermione’s knowledge it came out of nowhere. But that didn’t mean that she wanted it to  _ stop _ .

“Pans…” She murmured, and that seemed to break the spell and suddenly Pansy was on her feet and pacing, hands fisted in her hair. Hermione blinked, still a little dumbfounded by how  _ good  _ that felt. Her brain was not moving fast enough to deal with a full breakdown right now, but she decided that it probably needed to.   


“Shit, I’m so sorry, that was a mistake-.” Pansy started to babble, and Hermione reached out to grab her hand, to quiet her. But it was like trying to deal with a spooked animal, Pansy wouldn’t even let her close, she just kept backing up towards the door, eyes wide. Hermione couldn’t figure out why, all she was going to say was that maybe they should switch positions to something more comfortable because her back was getting sore from keeping herself half up. If she’d wanted Pansy to back off she would’ve shoved the girl away, and she definitely hadn’t done  _ that _ … why hadn’t she  _ wanted  _ to do that… not important, deal with freaked out roommate first, question everything else later.   


“It’s okay, I’m not-.” She tried, but Pansy shook her head and looked at the wall, her cheeks a burning red as she swiftly walked over to the back corner of her bed and dug out an old pair of sneakers, shoving them quickly on her feet as she pressed herself back against the door.   


“I’m gonna… I’m gonna go for a run. And you’re going to stay here. I’m running, you’re staying. Talk to you tomorrow. Or not. Who knows? Not me!” Pansy said, her voice cracking on the last sentence as she slammed the door shut behind her, leaving Hermione with swollen lips and an aching sense of knowing. And a slight bit of worry because yes, Pansy had put on sneakers, but she was also still wearing her uniform and it was starting to get rather cold out.   


“-Mad at you.” She murmured, and suddenly it all started to make sense, the pieces began falling into place a bit. Why would Pansy have agreed to a fake relationship if there was no interest? She wouldn’t have, Hermione had noticed over the past couple months of living with her that Pansy rarely did something without reason, without wanting to. And a couple thousand galleons was like pocket cash to an heiress of a pureblood family, so that wasn’t a compelling enough reason to do anything at all. Pansy Parkinson  _ actually  _ fancied her, which was a concept that was very hard for Hermione to actually wrap her head around, given the girl had taken many years being a giant thorn in her side and nothing else, no inkling that she might be harbouring a flame for the Gryffindor. That wasn’t important right now, the timeline didn’t much matter, what mattered was the feelings. The fact that if she  _ really  _ thought about it, kissing Pansy felt far better than any past romantic exploit, and that probably said a whole hell of a lot about her. Probably said that she had feelings for Pansy too, but there was no way to currently  _ tell  _ the wanker that, not with her off running God knows where at 11:00 PM on a  _ school night _ . Hermione let out a groan of annoyance and fell back on Pansy’s bed, covering her face with her arms. Did she  _ really  _ have to run away? Like physically? Makes it a lot harder to deal with the whole situation at hand.


	12. October 15, 12:00PM

It had been the longest night Hermione had had in awhile, as she’d sat up as late as she could to see if Pansy would come back, and she hadn’t.  _ And  _ she’d managed to avoid the Gryffindor all day, much to her dismay, but Hermione finally managed to corner her, after  _ hours  _ of trying, they needed to talk about it.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” Hermione sighed, leaning against the wall to cut off Pansy’s path. She felt bad, seeing the bags under her eyes. She probably hadn’t gotten much sleep last night.   


“No I haven’t.” Pansy snapped, turning quickly around a corner as if that was going to make Hermione not be able to catch up to her and okay, yeah, Pansy was faster than her, but she was also properly motivated to keep up.   


“When I woke up you were already down at breakfast. When I went to bed last night you weren’t back in the dorm, do you understand how worried I was?” Hermione asked, and Pansy shrugged, not even looking down at her. It hurt, because it was such a 180 from how she’d been in the dorm before running off last night.   


“There’s no reason for you to be worried about me.” She said flippantly, and Hermione rolled her eyes because  _ honestly  _ was Pansy this stupid? She wasn’t, Hermione knew that. She was just terrified, which was okay.   


“Yes there is!” Hermione insisted, and Pansy rolled her eyes, but stopped walking so that Hermione could actually look her in the face. She looked even more exhausted from this angle.   


“And what is that, Granger?” Pansy asked, and Hermione cleared her throat, suddenly feeling very warm.   


“I’m… you’re… we…” okay, so admitting her feelings was  _ way  _ harder to Pansy’s face, she hadn’t been expecting that.   


“You’re going to need to elaborate on that, because I don’t know what the fuck you’re trying to say right now.” Pansy snapped, and Hermione thought for a moment. What was she supposed to say? Were they girlfriends? To the rest of the world, of course… but not to each other, so maybe not.   


“You’re my  _ friend _ .” Hermione insisted, and Pansy rolled her eyes and looked away.   


“Well, I’m a rather shitty one.” Pansy said, her voice cracking on the word ‘shitty’. Hermione sighed and ran a hand through her hair, a little frustrated at how difficult it was to get Pansy to see that she wasn’t in trouble right now.   


“No! You’re  _ not _ !” Hermione said, but Pansy looked nowhere near convinced, much to Hermione’s dismay. This was going to be harder than she thought.   


“You should be furious at me.” She mumbled, and Hermione raised an eyebrow. Did she have a reason or did she just think that Hermione was mad about everything? Was  _ that  _ why she was being given the cold shoulder? It was a stupid reason, Hermione was the  _ farthest  _ thing from mad.   


“Why?” Hermione asked, and Pansy shrugged. Well, that wasn’t going to help their situation.   


“ Because I took advantage of giving you a massage. That was a very shitty move on my part. It was wrong.” Pansy sighed, and Hermione raised an eyebrow. Was  _ that  _ what this was about? She thought Hermione didn’t like what had happened? If she hadn’t liked it she would’ve stopped it.   


“Hold on… You really think that you took  _ advantage  _ of me?” Hermione asked, her voice coming out in a soft laugh, but Pansy didn’t find it very funny, that was clear from the slight tears in the corner of her eyes.   


“Yes!” She sighed, and Hermione raised an eyebrow. What the hell.   


“Pansy!  _ I  _ kissed  _ you _ !” Hermione pointed out, and Pansy chewed on her lip, looking conflicted as she leaned against the wall. She seemed like she was trying to work through exactly what Hermione had told her, which did worry her. It wasn’t hard to figure out, she’d kissed her because she’d  _ wanted  _ to, she had free will.   


“Well-.” Pansy tried, but Hermione shook her head. She was not going to let Pansy make  _ either  _ of them feel guilty for that, it had been nice.   


“No! I kissed you. I did that because I  _ wanted  _ to do that.” Hermione snapped, and Pansy sighed and ran a hand through her hair, glancing up and down the hallway as if she was checking to make sure no one was listening in. Hermione honestly didn’t care if anyone was, people already thought they were dating and this would just come across as a lover’s quarrel, nothing more, nothing less.   


“Then… then we’ve been spending too much time with each other.” She said quietly, and Hermione took a deep breath and a large step forward, ignoring the fact that she was probably invading Pansy’s personal space. She needed to make her see that running wasn’t fair to either of them.   


“Pansy-.” She tried, but the Slytherin shook her head and sighed.   


“I have to get to class.” Pansy said, her voice devoid of all emotion as she tried to walk off, but Hermione couldn’t let that happen. This was the  _ worst  _ way to end this conversation.   


“Wait-.” Hermione tried, catching her sleeve, and Pansy regarded her coldly, as if they  _ hadn’t  _ been close this year. As if Hermione was still below her, it really hurt.   


“No! I have to go.” Pansy snapped, yanking her arm back as she turned around and stormed off, leaving Hermione against the wall, numb and tearing up. Was that supposed to be a breakup? Even if it was, Hermione could lie.   


“Was that a breakup I just saw? Am I lucky enough to have won our bet after just over two weeks.” Harry said, and Hermione could tell he was trying to joke around, but she wasn’t in the mood. She shoved him away from her.   


“Merlin. Fuck off, Harry.” Hermione said bitterly, scrubbing at her cheeks to try and get rid of the tears as she pushed past the boy. She didn’t get too far before she felt two arms around her and ran into Harry’s chest. For once she wished he wasn’t so hellbent on checking in since the war.    


“Wait, woah. You’re crying.” Harry said, his voice softening as he stroked Hermione’s hair, tucking his chin on her head.   


“No  _ fucking  _ shit!” She said, feeling the tears come back again at Harry’s soft gesture. He took her hand and led her to the wall, pulling her down beside him.   


“Sit down, talk to me about it.” Harry insisted, and Hermione tried to pull herself free. She did not want to have to talk to him.   


“There’s nothing to talk about.” Hermione said curtly, wrapping her arms around her legs as Harry rolled his eyes. Of course he wasn’t dumb enough to actually believe that, but Hermione could dream of not having to have this conversation.   


“Clearly there is! So just talk, goddamnit! I’m worried about you.” Harry snapped, and Hermione sighed and rested her chin against her knees.   


“Okay. Fine. Pansy’s been avoiding me, and now… I don’t think she even wants to be around me.” Hermione admitted, and she hated saying that. Because this all could’ve been avoided if she just didn’t notice the feeling last night.   


“So did you-.” Hermione rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Of  _ course  _ he was concerned about the bet… or maybe he was really concerned about her. She couldn’t really tell.   


“No, we didn’t break up… she just wants space. But the way she said it was so  _ harsh _ . Like I actually feel hurt by it… is that stupid?” Hermione asked, resting her head in her hands. She half expected Harry to chuckle, or make an excuse not to talk about this, but instead was met with him lightly rubbing between her shoulder blades.   


“Not at all. It’s confusing how someone can go from hot to cold in one day, but she’ll get over it. She’s probably just freaking out because this is the first time she’s liked someone who isn’t a total and complete wanker.” Harry pointed out, and he probably wasn’t entirely wrong. They had a totally different dynamic then the one Hermione had seen between hers and Daphne, so that could be overwhelming.   


“Right. Thanks.” Hermione sighed, and he grinned at her, bumping her shoulder lightly.   


“‘Course.” Harry insisted, pulling her into a side hug for a moment before letting her go.   


“So how are you and Ron doing?” Hermione asked, wiping her cheeks, desperate to change the subject. She was shocked to see Harry’s cheeks pinken a bit on the subject, and to see him flash her a really genuine smile.   


“Honestly… I think it could work out.” He muttered, and Hermione’s jaw dropped open in shock. This had to be a joke.   


“Are you  _ kidding  _ me?” Hermione asked, and he shook his head, leaning against her shoulder a bit.   


“No, I’m not… It sounds really crazy, I know but… he’s actually really attentive and rather sweet when he wants to be. Plus, Molly already adores me, so I’ve got an in with the parents. Knocks out a whole part that's normally nerve wracking.” Harry explained, and Hermione  _ supposed  _ that that part of it made sense, but the rest...   


“... Perhaps. But you two just…. You seemed like brothers.” Hermione pointed out, and Harry chewed on his lip and nodded, fiddling with his fingers.   


“I get that… But maybe that was just fear of something more difficult coming out of all of it, fear that getting into a relationship during the war would lead to one of us getting hurt. It probably would’ve, honestly.” Harry reasoned, and Hermione raised an eyebrow. Okay, so she was slowly coming to terms with this.   


“But now… you actually like him?” Hermione asked, still skeptical even as he nodded at her.   


“Yeah. I mean, I’ve always thought he was a good guy, I just… I fancy him now. Is… Is that okay? I should’ve asked, because I know you used to wish you two were together-.” Hermione cut him off with a tight hug. She was just happy that he was  _ finally  _ happy. Merlin knows that he deserved it.   


“Suffice to say we’re both over that, Harry. And if it really matters that much to you, you’ve got my blessing in your… odd relationship.” Hermione said with a watery chuckle, giving Harry one last squeeze before releasing him.

“Potter. Are you bothering my girlfriend?” Hermione heard Pansy ask, any inkling of her earlier breakdown completely wiped from her tone. But when Hermione looked up, she saw that her eyes were still a little puffy. Hard to get rid of that.   


“Uh… no? I found her crying and I happen to  _ know  _ that you’re the one who caused it.” Harry snapped, jumping to his feet. Pansy looked shocked as she glanced between the two of them with suspicion.   


“Excuse me?” She asked, and Harry jabbed a finger into her chest, pushing her back a bit as he spoke.   


“Where do you get off, Parkinson? Seriously, I don’t get what your problem is. You have this…  _ amazing  _ girl, she’s all yours and you’re going to fuck it up because you can’t stop yourself from self sabotaging because you’re  _ afraid  _ of feeling that much.” He snapped, and Pansy put a hand on either of his shoulders, shoving him back with her full force, gaze quickly turning cold.   


“Don’t act like you fucking  _ know  _ me!” Pansy growled, and Hermione went to step between, but she felt Harry’s arm across her chest, and saw him step in front of her. It annoyed her a bit, that he wasn’t letting her fight her own battle.   


“I do! I know your  _ type _ ! Gorgeous, cold, unfeeling. Terrified  _ of  _ feeling  _ anything  _ at all, so you push away someone who could possibly be the best thing that ever happened to you. Like what is it, Parkinson? What makes you so damaged? So  _ scared _ ? Mummy and daddy didn’t show you enough love at home?” Harry snapped, and Hermione really wanted to stop this, but she had no idea how.   


“Fuck off, Potter. Last warning.” Pansy said, her voice low and steady, like she was trying to hold back her anger. Hermione took the moment to step between them, because maybe that would be just enough of a buffer to stop a physical altercation.   


“No, I’m serious. Are your daddy issues  _ that  _ bad, like what the fu-.” Pansy shoved past Hermione and grabbed Harry by the collar, pushing him hard against the wall, hard enough that his head smacked the wall with enough force to send an echo down the hall.   


“I said  _ stop _ . I was coming here to  _ apologize _ to Hermione for how I’d been acting. But maybe I shouldn’t if I’m so ‘cold’ and ‘unfeeling’.” Pansy snapped, going to turn on her heel, but Hermione grabbed the back of her shirt and held her back.   


“Wait! Wait. Stop. Pansy just… let go of him, come on.” Hermione sighed, holding out her hand, and she saw the Slytherin’s scowl falter, but she didn’t drop Harry’s collar yet. It took her a long moment before she sighed and dropped him, taking Hermione’s hand.   


“You could’ve stopped him.” Pansy said, her voice coming out quiet and broken… but really what was Hermione supposed to say.   


“I couldn’t get a word in edgewise.” She pointed out, and Pansy rolled her eyes and tried to pull her hand back, but Hermione held tight.   


“Right. Because Potter and I are both-.” Hermione smirked and squeezed her hand lightly, raising an eyebrow.   


“Passionate?” She tried, and Pansy chuckled and nodded, dropping Hermione’s hand in favor of crossing her arms. It was almost embarrassing how quickly Hermione missed the contact between them, but she figured she shouldn’t push her luck.   


“... That’s a way to say it.” Pansy murmured and Hermione grinned and leaned up, pressing a kiss to Pansy’s cheek, mostly to keep up appearances, but also she could whisper into Pansy’s ear, making it look a bit less suspicious.   


“Okay. So what were you wanting to say?” Hermione asked, and Pansy shrugged, looking up and down the hallway to make sure no one was listening.   


“I was halfway to class, and I realized that one, I was going to be half an hour early, and two… I didn’t hear you out and that wasn’t fair.” Pansy said, leaning against the wall. Hermione felt her heart speed up in her chest because this was what she’d been wanting, a chance to explain everything.   


“For real?” Hermione asked, and Pansy nodded, rubbing the back of her neck. If Hermione didn’t know any better, she’d  _ actually  _ think that Pansy was nervous right now.   


“Yeah. Like…  _ Why  _ did you kiss me last night? No one was around, there was no reason to. You could’ve slapped me and shoved me off, I would’ve understood that a whole lot more.” Pansy said, and Hermione shrugged. She’d had to think about that herself.

“I kissed you because I wanted to. There’s nothing more to it. I liked how it felt and I was comfortable in that moment.” She explained, and Pansy looked surprised, and a little uneasy.   


“But we have rules-.” Hermione nodded. She thought that might be the first place Pansy would go, after all her most important rule was that Hermione wouldn’t fall in love with her and she  _ hadn’t  _ yet… but she could really see it happening at some point.   


“Mhm, and those can still be adhered to. This could be a one time fluke if you want it to be nothing else.” Hermione proposed, and Pansy was silent for a good long moment before she looked over at her.

“And if I don’t?” Pansy asked quietly, and it felt like all the air in the room was stolen from them at that point. Hermione wanted to just lean up and kiss her, but she also knew that starting an  _ actual  _ relationship between them when Pansy was still terrified would only end in heartbreak, so instead she took a deep breath.   


“Then we can cross that bridge when we get there.” Hermione insisted, and this seemed to calm Pansy a bit, at least she didn’t seem to want to run off anymore.   


“... alright. In that case, if we’re done with this conversation  _ for now _ … can I walk you to class?” Pansy asked, almost shyly. It was sort of cute, seeing Pansy this gentle and domestic, and it made her want to actually date her all the more, but she was willing to wait as long as it took for Pansy to actually be ready.

“Mhm. Lead the way, dear.” Hermione said, taking Pansy’s hand. She grinned to herself when she saw the small blush on Pansy’s cheek and felt her lightly check her shoulder.

“You are _n_ _ ot  _ helping, you asshole.” Pansy growled, and Hermione grinned up and shook her head.

“Oh, don't worry I wasn’t trying to. I'm _trying_ to win you over. And I plan to have it work.” She insisted, but she was silent the rest of the way to class, thinking up ways to  _ possibly  _ make Pansy decide quicker.


	13. October 20, 8:00PM

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the gap in updates!

Maybe Hermione was getting clingy but she kind of hated when she couldn’t be around Pansy, and today had just been one of those days when they’d just kept missing each other. But Hermione was determined, and who better to ask about Pansy’s whereabouts than her best friend.

“Thank Merlin. Hey, Greengrass!” Hermione called, but the Slytherin didn’t move. She simply raised an eyebrow to acknowledge her.

“Oh. Hermione. Yes?” She asked, flipping a page in her book, looking disinterested. Maybe she wasn’t, maybe that was just how she regarded people who didn’t have anything to offer her, but Hermione was too focused to try and find out.

“Have you seen Pansy? I couldn’t find her after class-.” Hermione didn’t get to finish before the Slytherin started talking over her. Rude, but okay, at least Hermione was getting somewhere and this wasn’t a waste of time.

“I’d check the library. And the corridor on the 3rd floor.” Daphne sighed, and just like that Hermione was invisible again. A corridor? Really? What kind of a person just hangs out in a _corridor_?

“Okay…”. Hermione trailed off, and Daphne rolled her eyes and looked at her over her textbook again, as if any conversation was a huge chore for her.

“She sits there when she needs time to herself, always has, ever since first year.” Daphne clarified, and Hermione nodded. That made sense, Pansy didn't seem like the common room type before the war, she seemed to think she was too good for it.

“Got it. Thanks.” Hermione said, and she made her way to the corridor first, stopping short when she heard hushed voices, people talking in secrecy. She crept slowly closer and held her breath, wanting to know if it was something she should try and break up.

“-If she catches us I think I’ll die, I’m so nervous. I already feel like an asshole for sneaking around like this, I just want to tell her.” A girl hissed, and Hermione recognized it as Pansy and raised an eyebrow. She supposed Pansy didn’t have to tell her everything, but she didn’t like the thought that she was hiding something.

“You’re the one who wanted to keep it from her-.” A guy started, and Hermione’s blood went cold, because that _for sure_ sounded like cheating to her… and with a guy, which confused her a bit, but she supposed that sexuality _was_ fluid, it could happen. She stepped around the corner and saw a very strange sight… Pansy and Harry, huddled together, backs turned to her. Okay, so they weren’t kissing, or touching… but it still set Hermione’s hair on end and sent off signals in her mind.

“Pansy? _Harry?_ ” Hermione asked, feeling her brows furrowed as Pansy and Harry quickly turned to look at her, both looking guilty. It made no sense. But, Hermione was past the point of logic, this just felt like betrayal

“Hermione! It is _seriously_ not what it looks like-.” Harry started, taking a large step away from the Slytherin with both of his hands raised in surrender. Hermione narrowed her eyes, her brain slowly putting the pieces together, even if it wouldn’t make sense.

“Sneaking around? Together? You two don’t even like each other, suddenly _this_ is happening? Unbelievable.” Hermione said, her voice coming out quiet. Pansy’s eyes widened and she shook her head, tucking something into her robe fast enough that Hermione couldn’t tell what it was.

“What? No, hold on a moment, Hermione, I don’t even like-.” Pansy tried, but Hermione held up a hand to stop her from talking. She wasn’t in the mood.

“No. Shut the fuck up. Just… leave me alone.” She said, turning on her heel to walk away. She heard them follow her and considered a hex, but decided getting away was more important.

“‘Mione!” She heard Harry call, of course he was trying to follow her closer. Just because they were basically family he thinks he has the right… he’s wrong, she knows that.

“That means _both_ of you. Back the fuck off, Potter.” Hermione spat, turning around to face the boy for a moment before he backed off. The blood was roaring in her ears too much at that point to hear if _anyone_ was following her anymore. She made her way to her dorm, storming past the common room and curling up on her bed, looking at the wall, trying not to feel too hurt, because it wasn’t like this was _real_ …. Except Harry and Ron _were_ real, which would make it that Harry was cheating on Ron and that-.

“... Hermione?” Pansy asked quietly, and Hermione’s eyes shot open as she heard the door softly close behind the Slytherin. Had she forgotten to close it? She must’ve, because there hadn’t been a sound when it opened...

“Go away!” Hermione spat, but she could tell Pansy didn't move, aside from shifting her weight from side to side.

“Okay, one, I don’t think leaving you alone is the best idea right now. And two… this is my dorm too, I live here. So can we please just-.” She felt Pansy’s hand on her shoulder and reached to slap it off.

“Don’t you _fucking_ touch me!” She growled, and Pansy recoiled like she’d been burned.

“Why are you so angry?” Pansy asked, sounding genuinely worried and even a bit confused. Oh, how Hermione wanted to wring her neck.

“You cheated on me with Harry!” Hermione finally burst out, and the room was thick with silence for a moment before Pansy let out a loud laugh, clutching her stomach as she did.

“What?” Pansy asked, and Hermione had half a mind to hex her, because it was quite rude to laugh at someone after hurting them. Very cruel. Very _old_ Pansy.

“Oh come off it, Parkinson. You’re not daft.” Hermione snapped, and Pansy’s eyes softened a bit as she quieted down and settled on the edge of Hermione’s bed, suddenly looking so small as she tucked one leg up so her head was resting on her knee.

“I’m not hooking up with Potter.” She insisted again, softer this time as she reached out and brushed a curl behind Hermione’s ear. She forgot to slap her hand away, for a moment she even forgot that she was upset. But then the moment ended, and it all came flooding back.

“Sneaking around.” Hermione said flatly, crossing her arms, and Pansy sighed and tucked a hand into her robe, as if she was digging for something.

“No. Okay... yes, sort of, but not in the way that you might think. He was… helping me with something. Helping me find something that I needed.” Pansy explained, and Hermione let out a humorless laugh, shaking her head. That had to be the worst lie Pansy could come up with, honestly she expected more from someone who used to run with Draco Malfoy.

“Oh yeah? And why should I believe you?” Hermione asked, and Pansy smiled and withdrew her hand from her robes, fingers locked around something small. Probably whatever she'd tucked away earlier.

“Hold out your hand.” Pansy said, and she did , feeling Pansy close her hand around something. She glanced down with a raised eyebrow at her now clenched fist, feeling cold metal inside.

“What’s this?” She asked, and Pansy smiled and gestured for her to open her hand. When she did, her jaw dropped a little, because in her hand was an ornate necklace, the likes of which _she_ really couldn’t afford. Her mind started spiraling about how she was _ever_ going to pay Pansy back for this, and she thought about the apology she owed to both of them for jumping to conclusions. Pansy must've taken her silence for confusion, because she cleared her throat and scooted a little closer, tentatively taking the necklace and pushing Hermione's hair aside so she could fasten it around her neck.

“It’s a locket. He was getting it for me from Diagon Alley because he knows you better. I didn’t want to get the wrong one. It was going to be a surprise for another time but since you listened in on the conversation, there's no reason to wait to give it to you.” Pansy explained, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly as she did. Hermione’s mouth was still dropped open as she examined the locket, which looked far too expensive for a gift between friends. And what occasion would _ever_ call for a necklace this nice to be given as a gift?

“Why couldn’t you just tell me? The way you and Harry were talking about it, you'd think you were either negotiating a drug deal or an affair. And I know Harry doesn't do drugs very often so I _obviously_ assumed the latter.” Hermione asked, and she felt her chest warm at the small blush on Pansy’s face. Was it possible that Pansy was nervous about giving her a gift? Seemed out of her wheelhouse.

“Because you would’ve told me not to buy you a gift? I know you. Especially since we aren’t even dating, you'd feel guilty. I didn’t _like_ hiding it from you, even though it wasn’t even something bad, and I’m sor-.” Pansy didn't get to finish her apology before Hermione rolled her eyes and yanked her over by her tie, pressing a firm kiss to her lips, smiling a bit at the surprised sound coming from the other witches mouth, at how shaky her hands felt around her waist. It was an ego boost, that she could make Pansy Parkinson nervous. Now, to her credit, Hermione _really_ did try to contain herself, but the moment felt right, and Gryffindors were known for their bravery, right? Plus, it’s partially Pansy’s fault for having such soft lips, it was like they were calling out to her, who was she to ignore that? They broke apart and Hermione rested her forehead against the other witches, lips still tugged up in a small smile.

“It’s beautiful. And you could’ve phrased that better, it literally sounded like you were cheating. But… I do love it, I promise.” Hermione insisted, releasing Pansy’s tie as she leaned back.

“Mhm. Uh... What was that for?” Pansy asked, looking a little lost and a little breathless. Hermione shrugged and looked down at her lap, suddenly a little embarrassed. If she was that surprised there was no way she’d wanted that to happen, right?

“Because I felt like it. I won’t do it again if you’re not okay-.” Pansy shook her head, cupping Hermione’s face with her hands. Hermione was a little embarrassed that this left her breathless, being held inches from Pansy's face as she seemed to be examining every facial feature, as if committing it to memory. It was so intimate, and unexpected.

“No you can. Do it again… whenever you want.” Pansy insisted quickly, punctuating her sentence with a long kiss to Hermione’s lips. Hermione had to fight the urge to actually frown when Pansy pulled away, but it did make it easier to breach the topic of an actual relationship again.

“So…”. Hermione tried, and Pansy shook her head, frowning slightly as she did, hands fiddling with the hem of her skirt, once again looking uneasy.

“I'm thinking about it, I just... I still need some time.” Pansy said quietly, and Hermione tried to put aside her frustration in exchange for actual answers, even if she _was_ a tad annoyed at the moment.

“Okay, so now we’re kissing in private, in public, I got _jealous_ … but we’re still faking it?” Hermione asked, eyebrows raised. Pansy shrugged and nodded, examining her nails as she did, like she couldn’t make eye contact with Hermione for a moment.

“Mhm.” Pansy insisted, and Hermione rolled her eyes and laid back down, folding her hands behind her head as she looked up at the other witch, who seemed to be observing her with a profound softness that was very rare from her.

“Merlin, you’re _so_ confusing sometimes.” She sighed, and Pansy smirked and shrugged again, tracing small circles on Hermione's outer thigh as she did, as if she were thinking of a comeback. Hermione jumped at the sensation and closed her eyes, clearing her throat to rid herself of the thoughts of where _else_ those fingers could trace that would feel even better. Now was not the time. The movement stopped after a moment and Hermione opened her eyes, letting out a small squeak of surprise when she saw Pansy leaning above her face.

“Mhm. And you’re warm. Scoot.” Pansy sighed, pushing Hermione over on her side before sliding her arms around her waist, tucking her face against the back of Hermione's neck. It was nice, but also just added to Hermione’s point and gave her more ammunition.

“Okay, this is-.” Pansy chuckled softly, and Hermione shivered at the sensation, her brain wiped clear of most of her thoughts for a moment as she thought about what it might feel like to have Pansy’s lips on her throat.

“Shut up, just rest.” Pansy whispered, and Hermione swallowed and nodded, pushing any more thoughts of _that_ nature from her mind. It wasn’t fair to Pansy to be fantasizing about her while they were laying together. It felt wrong, like she was taking advantage of her.

“Right. Sorry.” She murmured, and laid there, staring at the wall as she gradually heard Pansy’s breathing even out, her own breath hitching when Pansy pulled her closer in her slumber. Oh, she was completely fucked.


	14. October 21, 11:00AM

Now Hermione could confirm that falling asleep next to Pansy did nothing but make her fall harder. She hadn’t had the heart to wake Pansy up yesterday when they’d fallen asleep, which made it damn near impossible for her to get any rest. She was too busy studying her features, how soft they looked when she slept, the way she seemed to almost mumble as she dreamed, it was beautiful. And now it was distracting her in class, where they were meant to be being paired up for a project, but all she could do was admire Pansy’s side profile. _Merlin_ this was unlike her, but she reasoned that after the years she’d had, she deserved a bit of indulgence. For balance, everyone deserves a bit of indulgence with their trauma.

“Granger. Nott.” The professor rang out, and the look of disdain that settled on Pansy’s face was enough to shake Hermione back to reality. It was also a bit confusing because she was _fairly_ certain that Theo and Pansy were friends… or maybe she’d gotten that confused. 

“Ugh.” Pansy muttered, shaking her head as she set her jaw. Oh. Angry. Okay.

“Come on, love. Theo’s nice enough.” Hermione said, trying to _gently_ remind Pansy not to kill anyone in her own house… at least without good reason. Pansy rolled her eyes, but did nod and gave Hermione’s hand a quick squeeze. 

“Right, right. But it just seems like my friends are all hell bent on proving this is a ruse or something. If he hits on you, let me know, I’ll set him straight.” Pansy insisted, looking her in the eyes. Hermione squirmed a bit in her seat and cleared her throat, trying her best to keep her voice steady.

“I can take care of myself.” She insisted, and Pansy gave her a small smile and shoved her shoulder, finally looking away. Thank Merlin, that much intensity should be illegal in class, even though she was certain Pansy wasn’t even trying. It must be nice to be _naturally_ charming. 

“And I’m your girlfriend, I can help.” Pansy muttered, and Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off before she could by the voice of their professor. Right. Potions. Focus.

“-Parkinson. Weasley.” The professor said, and Hermione didn’t miss the slight grimace that ran across Pansy’s face before she forced it back to neutral and even gave her an attempt at a reassuring smile.

“Well, this should be interesting. I’ll see you after class, love.” Pansy sighed, leaning in and pressing a kiss to Hermione’s cheekbone. It shouldn’t have made her grin _nearly_ as much as it did, by now Pansy had done that millions of times. 

“Mhm.” She murmured, before making her way over to where Theo sat and clearing her throat. The Slytherin looked up and gave her an odd smile, one that she really didn’t like the look of. Maybe Pansy was right to groan.

“Granger. What a pleasure, sit down.” He said, and patted the seat beside him. She took it with some apprehension and gave him a nod of acknowledgement.

“Theodore.” Hermione sighed, and Theo chuckled, leaning over her to grab the ingredients before going back to his side. Well, if he was going to do that then Hermione should probably find the recipe, and given Pansy was using her textbook, she needed to get her hands on Theo’s. Easy enough if he would just stop talking.

“Wow. Such a cold response from such a pretty face-.” She slammed her hands on the table, maybe a bit too loud for what was going on, but she was frustrated. And it managed to make Theo shut up for a moment so she could speak.

“Merlin, is Zabini _paying_ you to be as annoying as he is?” Hermione asked, giving him a heavy glare, and Theo, to his credit, looked rather confused at this accusation. Okay, so maybe the Slytherin boys _weren’t_ working together to become the bane of her existence but still, it seemed odd that two boys who’d never given her the time of day before were suddenly interested in her. 

“No?” He asked, and Hermione rolled her eyes and finally managed to snag his textbook. Perfect.

“You know I’m taken, so just… knock that shit off.” Hermione sighed, flipping through his textbook. She hoped that would be enough to discourage him, but apparently that was too much faith because Theo put his hand out and plucked his book from her hands.

“A lovely girl like you shouldn’t have to work, maybe that’s what _Pansy_ has you do, but a pureblooded gentleman like myself-.” Hermione let out a harsh chuckle, shaking her head. Oh, how she wanted to hurt his feelings right now because _this_ shit was unbearable.

“Merlin, I’m going to tear my ears out. We need to work, give me the book.” She said, holding out her hand, but Theo held it out of reach. Wanker.

“One condition.” Theo said, and Hermione sighed. This should be good for a laugh if nothing else, she thought.

“Hm?” She asked, and Theo lowered the book, holding it out to her, but not releasing it into her hands. Ugh.

“Let me take you to Hogsmeade. Show you how you should be treated.” He said, winking at her. Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed the book back from him, tucking her face down a bit so she could read.

“If you’re homophobic-.” She started, and Theo let out a chuckle and leaned closer to her. It was sort of annoying, because every time Hermione tried to move away, he would move closer.

“What? No, it’s not because Parkinson is a girl. I just know she plays the field, always did with Daphne. She’s probably just using you for sex-.” Hermione slammed the book shut and raised her eyebrow. Honestly, her grade was high enough that she could hex him and not be worried about _that_ much. Maybe a detention, but it was starting to seem worth it.

“I’m going to give you one last chance to shut up.” She said, and felt herself fume even more when he shrugged. How _dare_ he assume that, not to mention the fact that he couldn’t be further off, not that that was the point.

“I was just saying-.” He tried again, and a pale hand landed on his arm as Pansy pushed between them, situating herself to look at Theo. She looked _pissed_ , but not her normal anger. This one was more subtle, and that led Hermione to believe that it was probably a bit more serious.

“Nott.” Pansy said, her voice short and clipped, and Hermione almost let out a laugh at how comical Theo's fear response was. His smile faltered a bit as he struggled to get some distance between him and Pansy.

“Pansy! Hey, we were just-.” But Pansy wasn't in the mood to listen, she held up one finger and leaned a little closer to Theo.

“Hit on her one more time and I will use a balding spell on you in your sleep. Consider this your first and last warning.” Pansy said, her voice low and even, her eyes never leaving Theo’s. It sent a shiver down Hermione’s spine, seeing her like this, which was a little bit embarrassing. She never thought she’d get all hot over someone being jealous, but here she was. Learning new things about herself every day. Theo sighed and pouted, _genuinely_ pouted, which Hermione thought was a bit ridiculous for someone of their age.

“You’re no fun.” He said, giving Pansy a look that she was sure was meant to make Pansy pity him, but it seemed to do the opposite. She leaned closer and looked just moments away from hexing him, which was what made Hermione step in and grab her hand, bringing it gently to her lips. This paused Pansy’s movements and she straightened up, giving Hermione a look that she couldn’t decipher before dropping a kiss on her hairline and stalking back to her table with Ron, who looked about ready to burst out laughing. Alright, fair, that was probably funny to watch when you weren’t attracted to someone in the equation, so she let it fly. Hermione managed to put her feelings aside for the rest of the hour, successfully completing the potion before the hour was up. Oddly, Theo was a really great potions partner when he managed to keep his mouth shut, so she was pretty grateful for that, there was no picking up the slack like she had to do with _her_ boys. The hour passed rather quickly, and she was almost a bit surprised when they got dismissed.

“Well. When you’re not talking, you’re not a _terrible_ potions partner. I'll see you around, Theo.” Hermione giving Theo a tight smile as she gathered her books, anxious to get _out_ of this classroom so she could be alone and really think about _what_ made her feel that way when Pansy was being so possessive. Honestly, she would’ve slapped anyone else if they’d tried that bullshit, dating or not, so what had changed. She was so lost in her own mind that she didn’t even realize there was something blocking her until she ran straight into it. Oh, of course he couldn’t just _let it go_. 

“Wait, I do believe we had something to discuss.” He said, which was the _last_ thing she felt like doing, but it didn't seem like he was going to budge. Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, crossing her arms. It wasn’t as though she couldn’t push him out of the way, and if she saw any sort of threat to what was going on, she absolutely would have. But she assumed he was probably just trying to impress her, or maybe he had some money riding on her saying yes, nothing of too much harm.

“What?” She asked, and Theo leaned forward to tuck some of her hair behind her ear, but she was quick to slap his hand away. Okay, that was one strike towards walking away without letting him finish his statement

“Hogsmeade, when can I take you?” Theo asked, giving a grin that Hermione was sure was supposed to be charming, and maybe in another lifetime it would have been, but right now it just set her on edge. Yes, technically hers and Pansy’s relationship was fake, but Theo didn’t know that which just made it all the more disgusting that he would do this to a friend. Hermione would consider that a betrayal.

“When hell freezes over.” She said, her voice deadpan. Theo looked a bit confused as he responded to her.

“So Saturday?” Theo asked and Hermione let out a small chuckle. It was sometimes funny just how few muggle sayings some wizards had picked up on.

“ _No._ ” Hermione said again, and Theo rolled his eyes, taking a step closer. Merlin, this boy lacked _every_ bit of social intelligence that she was sure was taught to him.

“Come on-.” He tried again, and Hermione heard someone clear their throat behind her, and saw Pansy walk up, crossing her arms for a moment as she sized Theo up.

“Nott. I do believe I warned you about hitting on my girlfriend.” Pansy sighed, wrapping her arm around Hermione’s waist as she pressed a kiss to the side of her head. If you weren’t looking directly at her, Pansy sounded fairly relaxed, maybe even disinterested when she told Theo to stop, but when Hermione looked up she was a bit surprised to see the jealousy bubbling just below the surface, currently only playing out in her eyes. Theo, apparently, failed to see any of the signals and merely laughed.

“C’mon Pans, we were just having a bit of fun.” Theo insisted, reaching for Hermione’s shoulder, but before his hand could make contact or before Hermione could slap it away she was yanked closer to Pansy, and she watched as Pansy’s face went from passive to angry in a heartbeat as she pulled Theo nose to nose with her by his tie. It was a little funny how quickly he shrank from his flirty stance when threatened. What _wasn’t_ very funny to her was the heat that flooded her body at how easily and naturally Pansy had moved her. If she’d let her mind wander, she was certain that she could think of a million _other_ ways Pansy could use that strength on her, but that was inappropriate when there were so many people around. 

“I will turn your dick inside out. Leave her alone.” Pansy said through gritted teeth, and Theo let out a nervous chuckle as he gently shoved Pansy back and straightened his tie, looking very uneasy. Hermione, on the other hand, looked uneasy for a whole _other_ reason. Honestly, she was pretty sure anyone would feel uncomfortable with getting turned on in the middle of a hallway.

“Merlin! Fine! But my offer stands.” Theo said, before turning and walking away. Pansy looked down at her and raised an eyebrow, like she wanted to say something, but before she could Hermione wrapped a hand around her wrist and pulled her down the hall. Apparently that wasn’t something that Pansy had been anticipating, because she stumbled and almost fell into Hermione, barely catching herself. It was almost enough to make Hermione stop walking. Almost.

“Are you okay, love?” Pansy asked, and Hermione chuckled to herself. _Yes I’m okay, I’m just trying not to jump you in the middle of a hallway_ , Hermione thought to herself, but thought better then to say that out loud.

“Mhm.” Hermione mumbled, trying to ignore the heat pooling between her thighs as she practically yanked Pansy down the hall. Now, she could take her to their dorm, but there was a very real possibility that Pansy would stop anything because of their agreement -Hermione wasn’t sure about the level of affection Pansy was actually okay with in private- and right now she really _didn’t_ want that to happen, as bad as that sounded. She led Pansy into the library and down a couple stacks until they reached one that was empty, and Hermione knew almost always was. Honestly, in her years here she’d probably only seen one other person use this area, and they’d graduated when she was in fifth year. When they finally came to a stop, she turned to find Pansy’s eyes filled with concern, and saw her wringing her hands. Hermione cursed herself internally because _of course_ storming around like that made Pansy think she was mad. Nice job.

“What are you doing? I’m sorry if that was too possessive, I just-.” Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled Pansy down by the front of her shirt, claiming her lips with the kiss that she’d been too deep in thought to give her in the hallway, letting Pansy chase her against the opposite shelf and press her there for a moment before pulling back, breathing a little too heavily for one kiss. She smirked and brought a thumb up to swipe across the edge of Pansy’s lip, collecting the smeared makeup and watching as Pansy’s eyes fluttered shut and she shivered, as if _that_ was more erotic then actually kissing. It was cute, Hermione thought, that Pansy was like that sometimes. Really humanized her.

“Shut up for a moment, will you?” Hermione asked softly, leaning in to kiss the slope of Pansy’s neck, something she’d been dying to try for a while, but she never seemed to have the courage to do. Ironic, all things considered. And she decided she liked it, the intensity of Pansy’s perfume, the way the other girl seemed to buckle just slightly as her hands met Hermione’s hair. Hermione felt triumph wash over her as she realized that she’d managed to, in one try, find one of Pansy’s weak spots. Could be useful. But all too soon she heard Pansy swallow and felt her nod.

“Uh… yeah. Okay.” Pansy rasped and dragged Hermione back to her lips, practically drinking her in as she pressed her more firmly against the bookshelf. Hermione _almost_ didn’t care about the shelf digging into her lower back. Almost. But it proved to be _just_ the right amount of annoying for her to do something about it, so she swung a leg around Pansy’s waist, smiling a bit at the surprised gasp from the other girl. She felt Pansy’s hands leave her hair to hoist her up a bit by the backs of her thighs, supporting her until Hermione could wrap her legs tightly around her waist, gasping a bit at the _slight_ friction it managed to provide. She probably would’ve sought out more were they not in the library and had someone not dropped a book about five stacks over to remind her. Even though she didn’t want to, Hermione tried to pull her mouth away to speak, only succeeding in making it easier for Pansy’s lips to slide down the slope of her neck. Okay. Hermione could handle that, she’d gone on the run for months, she could handle a woman kissing her neck without-. And then Pansy bit down slightly, and Hermione let out a gasp that was a little too loud for her comfort and cleared her throat. She was not in the mood to get lectured by Madame Pince today.

“It’s hot.” Hermione gasped, tugging a bit at the back of Pansy’s hair, but she seemed a little lost to the world, lightly nipping and sucking along the expanse of her neck. For a moment Hermione panicked about marks, and then she _thought_ about marks. About it solidifying things _that much more_ , and suddenly she didn’t mind as much.

“Hm?” Pansy mumbled, her voice muffled against the skin of her neck. Hermione finally, much to her dismay, dragged Pansy’s face up to look at her, finding herself almost struck dumb by the look of the other witch. Hair messy, lips swollen, eyes blown, wearing a look that was nothing short of smug. Merlin, looking at her was like a drug.

“When you act like you’re jealous… it’s hot.” Hermione admitted, a bit breathless as they broke apart, Pansy’s hands still tangled in her hair. She looked surprised and leaned back, an odd smile on her face as she continued running her fingers through Hermione’s hair.

“It’s not acting.” Pansy said, and Hermione raised an eyebrow. Obviously she knew Pansy had feelings, that was the biggest reason for her stress as of late, but feelings that were real enough for her to get jealous? It seemed unlikely in Hermione’s eyes.

“What?” Hermione asked, and Pansy let out a chuckle and shifted her hands down to Hermione’s hips. For a split second she considered getting down, concerned that she was crushing Pansy’s ribs. This was put out of her mind by Pansy’s grip tightening, her head resting on her chest.

“Obviously. It’s not acting. You’re not mine for real yet… but I plan for you to be. And I plan to be the _last_ person to call you mine.” Pansy said, with such sincerity that Hermione nearly fell over. She probably would’ve, were her legs not locked around her Slytherin’s waist, Pansy’s hands firm on her hips. Never in her _life_ had she planned for Pansy fucking Parkinson to want a future with her, she wasn’t complaining, it just wasn’t something she’d been prepared to hear. 

“What-.” Pansy sighed and pressed another kiss to Hermione’s lips before pulling back and resting their foreheads together. Well, in terms of ways that she’d been interrupted over the years, that had probably been her favorite.

“That might seem sudden, but believe me. I play the long game with many things, and love is one of them.” Pansy murmured, her eyes darting between Hermione’s eyes and her lips, a move that never failed to make her heart flutter a bit. It was just so casual, the way Pansy showed what she wanted. But the intensity of her words wasn’t lost on Hermione, no matter how _distracting_ the girl in front of her was. Pansy Parkinson had just basically admitted to the fact that Hermione was it for her, and that was a mind blowing thought. Absolutely brilliant.

“Pansy-.” Hermione started, but she was cut off by a quick kiss to her throat, then her lips before Pansy straightened fully to resume their eye contact. Any other person, any other time, Hermione would’ve looked away, it was too intense, it almost made her feel naked, like everything she was feeling was on display. But that, for whatever reason, wasn’t something she was uncomfortable with around Pansy right now. Now, if they’d been in the common room, or anywhere but an abandoned stack in the library, that might be a different story, but it wasn’t like anyone could see them anyways.

“Don’t say anything. I think we’d both rather I don’t run off again, and if you respond right now it’s likely my fight or flight will kick in. So please, kiss me again, we can talk later.” Pansy sighed, bringing one hand up to curl around Hermione’s tie as she pulled her down into another kiss. And though she had questions, Hermione allowed herself to get lost in the softness of the embrace, the taste of Pansy’s lips, the smell of her perfume. She could’ve stayed like this for hours, pressed against her, legs locked, like she was suspended in time. Honestly, that was how it felt, like either no time or all the time passed while they were oblivious to anything else, all their focus on each other, Pansy’s tongue sliding past her lips and leading her further into oblivion. And again she made note of the fact that this was for no one’s benefit but their own, and prayed to anything that might be watching above that Pansy could make up her mind a bit faster because yes, she was reaping _all_ the benefits of being with her, but it still felt too good to be true.


	15. October 23, 8:45PM

There was just something that Hermione found so relaxing about watching Pansy read, she’d realized that at the beginning of the bet, but something about laying on her chest just made it all the better. Listening to the softness of her breaths, the slight rumble when she chuckled at something she found funny, the way she absentmindedly played with Hermione’s hair… it was all perfect. But also forced Hermione’s mind to consider all the questions she had been holding inside, like why Pansy wanted them to wait, what she was planning. But apparently she was too transparent, because she heard Pansy let out a heavy sigh before speaking.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Pansy asked, and Hermione gave her a look of shock and pulled away to sit up.

“Like what?” Hermione asked, feeling a little caught. Pansy shook her head and pulled her a little closer.

“Like you have a question. You always look at me like that when you’ve got a question ‘Mione.” Pansy said with a chuckle, not moving her eyes from where her book was floating. Hermione had to admit that the use of wandless magic was impressing her, even if that wasn’t the point.

“How can you even see that I’m looking at you?” Hermione asked, and Pansy chuckled and finally glanced down at her, her eyes warm.

“I can feel it. So why don’t you ask me. I’ll answer.” She said, and Hermione swallowed heavily as she fiddled with the collar of Pansy’s shirt.

“Are you… this whole ‘needing time’ thing… are you trying to court me?” She asked, folding her arms across Pansy’s chest so she could rest her chin without digging into the other witches sternum. Pansy froze up beneath her for a moment, eyes wide like she was afraid to answer, and Hermione almost said forget it. But just as soon as she’d froze she relaxed and cleared her throat, eyes training back on her book.

“In a way. It seems only fair, I’d do it with any other girl that I’m serious about, you deserve the same treatment.” Pansy said smoothly, like she hadn’t looked panicked a moment ago. Hermione couldn’t stop the smile that came on her face as she shuffled up Pansy’s body a bit more, tucking her head into the crook of her neck as she did. She felt one of Pansy’s hands trail up from her waist to stroke through her hair.

“Okay, so I could court you then?” Hermione asked, and Pansy paused for a moment before shrugging.

“If you'd like to.” She said, and Hermione couldn't stop herself from pressing a quick kiss to the skin of Pansy’s neck before speaking.

“I would.” Hermione said, and Pansy shifted and grinned down at her, letting the book fall down behind them.

“Lovely.” Pansy murmured, and rested a hand on the back of Hermione’s neck before pulling her into a kiss, immediately pulling Hermione closer so she could deepen it a bit, letting her tongue slide out to trace the line of Hermione’s lips. It made her gasp, which allowed Pansy to slide her tongue inside as she groaned a little, quiet enough that Hermione thought it was probably to herself. And  _ merlin,  _ that got her every time, and it always made her want more. She let Pansy flip their positions so that she was laying on top of Hermione, groaning herself when she felt Pansy’s fingers rake down her sides before slipping just under the bottom of her tshirt and stopping there. She shivered at the coolness of the other witches hand. It was in that moment that she remembered all that Pansy was wearing. Hermione’s sleep shirt and a pair of panties, it was enough to kickstart her brain again, and her hands slid under the back of the other witches shirt, tracing circles on her lower back, loving how she shivered. She was moving to slide her hands up and around, to trace on Pansy’s stomach, when a loud, jarring knock on the door caused them to stop, not breathing for a long moment. Hermione wasn’t certain of the rules with this, but she was 90% sure that if she was caught under her roommate by a professor, they’d have to switch rooms, which she wasn’t exactly for.

“OPEN UP.” They jumped apart at the sound of the pounding on the door, followed by the realization that that was Ginny’s voice. Hermione rolled her eyes and covered her face with Pansy’s pillow.

“I swear to Morgana… I’m gonna kill Ginny.” Hermione groaned as Pansy crawled off of her and flattened her hair with a sigh, giving her a small smile.

“I’ll get it.” She said, leaning down to press one more soft kiss to her lips. It was almost enough to have Hermione forget how ‘comfortably’ dressed Pansy was, but luckily her mind came back to her in just enough time, and she stopped Pansy with a quick hand on her wrist.

“Pants!” Hermione called, and Pansy rolled her eyes and shook her arm loose from Hermione’s grip.

“The shirt is long enough, it looks like I’m wearing them. Plus, you didn’t seem to mind a moment ago.” She pointed out, and Hermione rolled her eyes. That was hardly fair, there was a different level of conservatism that was needed when someone else was in the room and the door wasn’t locked.

“We were alone then.” Hermione pointed out, and Pansy rolled her eyes and snorted 

“Oh please! As if  _ Ginny  _ is gonna try and fuck me just because I’m not wearing pants. It’s not like I’m nude, I’ve got panties on.” Pansy said, and she pulled her shirt around her waist, as if to prove that point. Hermione's eyes widened and her throat went dry as she slowly raked her eyes over Pansy’s frame, knowing that just this image, as softcore as it was, had gotten her wetter than anything else she’d seen. Also, it almost made Hermione laugh because  _ of course  _ Pansy wore black lace panties. How fitting. There wasn’t much room for her finding it funny though, not when she was too busy finding it overwhelmingly hot instead. In real time, Pansy had probably stayed like that for five seconds tops, but it felt like  _ hours  _ to Hermione before she finally let the shirt rest back in its usual spot.

“Right… just… uh..”. The imagery proved to be too much for Hermione’s mind as she sat, completely frozen as her brain worked on committing what she’d seen to memory. Apparently she’d been silent just a moment too long, because Pansy snapped in front of her face to get her attention, a smirk on her lips.

“Door?” Pansy asked, raising an eyebrow, and Hermione took a deep breath and nodded

“Yes. That.” She said, and Pansy went to get the door, but not before she pressed a lingering kiss to Hermione’s lips, lightly tracing them with her tongue. Honestly, Hermione considered just telling Ginny to fuck off, come back later, but before she could do that Pansy was up and opening the door, leaving her uncomfortably turned on.

“This better be important, Weasley- _ oh.  _ Um. What is this?” Pansy asked, obviously surprised that the redhead had fallen against her chest, kicking the door shut behind her as she did. She gave Hermione a pleading look, but she merely shrugged.

“It’s a hug, Pans.” Hermione pointed out, and Pansy rolled her eyes. Really though, Hermione thought, she’d walked right into that.

“Thank you, not what I meant. Gin. Why are you crying right now.” Pansy asked, leaning back a bit so the redhead could meet her eyes. Ginny shrugged and wiped under her eyes, looking up at the ceiling as she did.

“I’m overwhelmed.” Ginny admitted, her voice coming out small and slightly broken.

“Oh, love. Come here.” Hermione sighed, pulling Ginny into a tight hug, letting the redhead rest her head against her shoulder, shuddering out a long sob. It broke Hermione’s heart a bit to see her friend like this, but it also made her relieved that she was showing some emotions, Ginny had a tendency to bottle things up until they blew.

“I… I fucked it up. I was trying so hard and I fucked it up.” Ginny choked out, and Hermione raised an eyebrow, leading her over to Pansy’s bed and sitting them both on the edge as Pansy crawled up to sit behind them, clearly wanting to be secondary in this conversation. That was fine, Hermione knew Ginny far better anyways.

“Fucked what up?” Hermione asked, and Ginny let out a shuddering breath before she spoke again.

“Luna.” Ginny breathed, and Hermione raised her eyebrow and looked at the other witch. This wasn’t proving to make much sense.

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked gently, and Ginny shrugged, looking more solemn then Hermione had ever seen her, besides Fred’s funeral, but she didn’t like to think about that day. No one did.

“I fucked it up.” She said again, and Pansy let out a frustrated sigh.

“Ginny. Specifics.” Pansy snapped, and Herimone gave her a look, but the Slytherin merely shrugged.

“Well… we were… we were talking a-and she started telling me about someone she likes and I waited too long and I’m totally  _ fucked  _ and I think it’s one of my brothers.” Ginny said, her voice rushing out of her body so fast that Hermione had to pause to absorb them all, and then she looked down at Ginny like she was crazy. Luna would probably  _ never  _ be interested in one of the Weasley boys, so where was this coming from?

“Come again?” Hermione asked as she exchanged a look with Pansy, who looked moments from bursting out laughing. That was fair, it was a ridiculous idea that Ginny was having. But apparently the younger Gryffindor didn’t think so as she let out a heavy sigh and rested her head against Hermione’s chest.

“I think it’s one of my brothers.” She whispered, and Hermione pulled back to look at Ginny more clearly. Had she drank something that made her lose a few brain cells?

“Um… no offense. Why?” Hermione asked, and Ginny shrugged, fiddling with her fingers as she did.

“She said they’ve got red hair, freckles, they play quidditch, they’re in Gryffindor, they’re loud and brave-.” Pansy finally let out her chuckle and scooted forward, settling beside Hermione to better look at Ginny as she spoke.

“Pause. I don’t think you fucked anything Up, besides your brain from one too many quidditch falls.” Pansy sighed, and Hermione shot her a glare. Not the time to be candid, instead the time to comfort.

“ _ Pansy. _ ” Hermione snapped, but the Slytherin waved her off, like her snapping was ridiculous. It  _ wasn’t  _ but alright.

“Hush, hear me out. She was talking about you.” Pansy said, and Ginny snorted and rolled her eyes as she wiped the tears from under them.

“No she would’ve been direct.” She insisted, and Pansy rolled her eyes, giving Hermione a ‘honestly?’ sort of look, and she shrugged. Ginny was obviously not going to believe it was about her.

“This is Luna  _ bloody  _ Lovegood we’re talking about here! The day she's direct about anything will be a miracle!” Pansy said with a laugh, and Ginny paused for a moment and cleared her throat, shrugging a little.

“I suppose she didn’t say any gender… and that their hair is sort of long and shaggy… but I just thought that since Ron grew his out-.” Hermione chuckled and patted Ginny’s knee lightly, giving her a knowing look.

“Hun. Luna wasn’t talking about Ron.” She insisted, and Ginny seemed to short circuit in that moment, eyes wide, hardly breathing, like she couldn’t believe. As if everyone, even her own bloody  _ brother  _ hadn’t been telling her that Luna fancied her.

“So she likes me.” Ginny said, like it was impossible to believe.

“Mhm.” Pansy mumbled, and then it seemed to click in Ginny’s head and she looked mortified.

“Oh. Fuck. That’s… was she trying to tell me?” Ginny asked, and Pansy let out a frustrated groan and rolled her eyes.

“Bloody fucking hell…  _ yes!”  _ Pansy said, her annoyance showing through. The Gryffindor shuddered and rested her head in her hands for a moment.

“Oh Merlin… I ran away from her. She’s gonna think I’m disgusted-.” Hermione sighed and cupped either side of Ginny’s face, forcing her to make eye contact.

“Or she’ll think you’re scared. She’s very understanding, remember? She forgave me for being an ass to her when I was a fifth year.” Hermione reminded her, and Ginny nodded and took a deep breath.

“I have to find her.” Ginny said, and Pansy snorted and nodded, practically pulling Ginny to her feet, clearly wanting her to leave a bit faster. Fair, Hermione thought, they  _ had  _ been interrupted.

“I’ll say.” Pansy mumbled, and Hermione gave her one last warning look. 

“ _ Pansy.”  _ She said again, and Pansy shrugged, placing a hand on either side of Ginny’s shoulders and steering her towards the door.

“Right. Well. Best of luck.” Pansy said, ushering Ginny to the door before coming back to settled close beside Hermione, practically on her lap. She could tell Ginny was picking up on the tension because she gave Hermione a knowing grin and cleared her throat.

“Thanks.” Ginny said, her face still a little blotchy from crying, but at least now there was a genuine smile on her face. And Hermione couldn’t think of a good way to send her off, except for reminding her that Wizards can get STD’s as well, or something like that… but she chose to go a bit more subtle.

“Be safe! Silencing charms, disillusionment charms, pro-.” She was cut off by Ginny laughing at her, which she found a tad bit rude.

“Merlin's beard it’s like you're my mother!” Ginny said, a good natured smile on her face. Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“Oh, fuck you, Gin. Get out of here, go get your girl.” Hermione said with a chuckle, feeling Pansy’s hand wander up the back of her shirt, slowly raking her fingers down. Hermione closed her eyes and rested her head on Pansy’s shoulder, barely registering that Ginny was still talking, still there.

“Got it. Bye.” The redhead said, and they waited until the door closed before Pansy got up, placing a locking charm on the door before turning around and giving Hermione a smirk. Honestly, Hermione was almost certain that Pansy was the only person who could make a ratty, oversized t-shirt look sexy on her, it practically had her drooling. She dropped back down beside Hermione and cleared her throat.

“So… where were we?” Pansy asked, her voice coming out smooth and a little flirty, just the right tone to send a shiver down Hermione’s spine as she swung her leg over Pansy’s lap and settling down there. Not that the Slytherin seemed to mind if her smile was anything to go off of, she merely slid her arms around Hermione’s waist to pull her closer, which made her breathless. The closeness, the energy… it was intoxicating.

“Right about… here.” Hermione murmured, cupping Pansy’s cheek as she guided their lips together, easing her flat on the mattress. She repeated what Pansy had done earlier, tracing her lips with her tongue and shivered when she heard the low groan come from the Slytherin. It egged her on, told her she was doing the right thing, doing things that Pansy actually wanted, such a thrilling thought. In a moment of bravery, Hermione let her hand trail under Pansy’s shirt, tracing the soft skin and smooth lines of her stomach, loving the way the muscles contracted under her fingers, how Pansy’s breathing grew ever heavier. It was shocking to her just how warm Pansy’s skin was, considering the coolness of her hands. Speaking of her hands… she felt one of Pansy’s slide up under the back of her shirt, tracing lazy lines up and down either side of her spine, sending goosebumps all over her body. She’d never considered her back to be very sensitive, but somehow it  _ was _ . Hermione slowly left a line of kisses down Pansy’s face and neck before settling on her pulsepoint. It made her chuckle a bit, how sensitive Pansy really was there, squirming just from Hermione’s breath brushing against the skin. She leaned in and took the patch of skin between her lips for a moment, worrying it with her teeth as she listened to Pansy’s small sounds. She let her hand trail lower, brushing over the waistband of Pansy’s panties, willing herself to slide her hand past it when she heard Pansy let out a small noise of concern and she stopped for a moment.

“Mmm wait, wait.” Pansy gasped, eyes shooting open as she gulped down air, her hand encircling Hermione’s wrist. She froze and drew back her hand, sitting cross legged across from Pansy, who was still catching her breath as she looked up at the ceiling. She felt terrible, moving things along too quickly, and wanted Pansy to know that.

“Did I do something wrong? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-.” Pansy shook her head quickly and sat up, giving Hermione a quick kiss. Very mixed signals, in her opinion.

“No!  _ Merlin  _ no! It’s not that, it’s just… I can’t do this. Not yet, it wouldn’t be right.” She said, her voice completely sincere, leaving gentle kisses on the back of each of Hermione’s hands. Hermione raised an eyebrow and smiled.

“I don’t care that we’re not together yet-.” Hermione started, and Pansy shook her head and smiled, sliding a hand onto Hermione’s cheek so gently, like she was scared of breaking her. Ridiculous.

“I do.” Pansy said, and that gave Hermione pause. She wasn’t expecting such an honest and heartfelt statement in this moment.

“Oh.” Hermione said quietly, and Pansy remained silent for a good minute before she actually spoke again.

“Yeah. Does that bother you?” Pansy asked quietly, and Hermione was quick to shake her head and tilt Pansy’s face to look at her.

“Of course not! It’s actually… really sweet.” Hermione said, and Pansy gave her a lopsided smile and raised an eyebrow.

“You think?” Pansy asked, and Hermione nodded. It was really nice to have another reminder that Pansy was now taking this seriously, even if it had started as a business sort of transaction.

“Mhm.” She mumbled, and Pansy grinned, settling them both back down on the bed. They laid like that for a moment before Hermione thought of the absurdity of it all. The female heir to the Parkinson name was wanting to wait for  _ her,  _ a Gryffidor muggle who would for  _ sure  _ send Pansy’s parents up a wall if they found out. It was enough to make her start laughing, much to Pansy’s annoyance.

“Why are you laughing?” Pansy sighed, and Hermione shrugged and smiled up at her, arms wrapping around the backs of Pansy’s shoulders to pull her closer.

“No reason. Just wouldn’t have pegged you for a gentleman.” Hermione teased, and Pansy’s mouth dropped open in faux hurt as she playfully shoved Hermione’s shoulder. She almost would’ve thought Pansy was actually mad, were it not for her telltale smirk.

“I was raised by a respectable pureblood family!” She protested, and Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, settling her head back down.

“Merlin, calm down. I was joking.” Hermione insisted, and Pansy nodded and let her eyes flutter shut.

“Good.” She muttered, and Hermione let her sit with that for a moment before she spoke again.

“Mostly.” Hermione muttered,  _ clearly  _ joking, but Pansy’s eyes opened, and she raised an eyebrow.

“Okay. That’s it. Sleep in your own bed tonight.” Pansy sighed, slowly trying to roll a protesting Hermione off the bed. It didn’t work very well though, because Hermione had taken to clinging onto her arm.

“No! Wait, wait. I’m sorry.” Hermione insisted, and Pansy paused for a moment before rolling her back, ending with them practically nose to nose.

“And you’re done making jokes?” Pansy asked, and Hermione nodded.

“Absolutely.” Hermione said, doing her best to look serious. Pansy sighed and rested her head back down on the pillow, dropping the facade for a moment as she looked at Hermione fondly. It only lasted a moment, but it was enough to practically make Hermione’s heart stop in her chest.

“Then I  _ suppose  _ you can stay.” Pansy said, giving her a joking wink before pulling her into another kiss, effectively wiping away any more teasing or jokes on Hermione’s end. Her brain had a tendency to short circuit a bit when this happened, she could hardly be blamed.


	16. October 25, 2:00PM

Hogsmeade was colder than Hermione had expected, and she was really happy that she’d let Pansy loan her her coat, or else she probably would’ve been freezing right now, and she didn’t want Ron to think he had to hand his over. Although maybe making him freeze would be fair, especially considering the fact that he’d spent their whole walk down there teasing her about her relationship.

“I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever, it's like you’ve melded with Parkinson or something. Like you’re never apart, it's honestly getting to be a little sickening, not in a bad way, just in a ‘I never need to see someone’s tongue down my best friend’s throat’ way.” Ron joked as they walked into the Three Broomsticks. Hermione rolled her eyes and smacked Ron’s arm, a little offended by his accusation. She still ate breakfast with them every single day and studied with them in the library for at least an hour daily.   


“Ronald! That’s entirely not true, I’m just happy. As if you haven’t been spending every waking moment with Harry.” Hermione countered, a little pleased with herself when she saw Ron’s ears turn a bit pink at the tips as he sputtered, shrugging, like that had been some awful observation that he _had_ to prove wrong. All she'd said was that he seemed to enjoy spending time with his boyfriend, that was hardly an insult of any kind.   


“Yeah, but that’s not new. We’ve been best mates for years now, you and Parkinson hated each other before this year.” He pointed out, and Hermione rolled her eyes, determined to win this apparent argument.   


“Well, you can’t blame me. You’ve seen her.” Hermione said, and Ron chuckled and nodded. Saying that was a mistake, and Hermione thought that he would've known that, but apparently not. 

“Mhm. She’s rather fit, no one can deny that.” He said, and Hermione leaned across the table and smacked his arm, causing him to look at her in shock.    


“I will hex you.” Hermione threatened, and Ron’s jaw dropped as he crossed his arms across his chest.   


“Okay, that is not fair! You set me up!” Ron protested and  _ yeah  _ maybe she had set him up but he should’ve known better.

“I did not.” She sniffed, and Ron sighed and glared at her.   


“You brought up her looks!” Ron said, and Hermione rolled her eyes. He should know a trap before walking into one, where were his instincts from being on the run?   


“Okay,  _ maybe  _ I did, but you still didn’t have to say it.” Hermione huffed, and Ron rolled his eyes and sighed as he stood up from the table.   


“Whatever. I’m gonna go grab our drinks, you save our table, you absolute wanker.” Ron said, and Hermione offered him a real smile, grabbing his wrist before he left, making him look at her. He had to know she was joking around, right? Wrong. He looked a little annoyed. Wonderful.   


“Thanks.” She offered, and Ron gave her a nod before making his way around to get them drinks. It took him a good five to ten minutes to come back, and when he did, he looked like was going to throw up.   


“I think I’ve officially seen Ginny snogging too many people. Like I’d  _ truly  _ like to obliviate it from my mind at this point.” Ron said with a grimace, and Hermione furrowed her brow. Where had that come from?   


“ What?” She asked, and Ron shook his head.   


“Look.” Ron said, sounding grave as he extended a finger toward a corner booth, where Luna and Ginny were caught in a tender embrace. Or maybe it was tender moments ago, now it was getting… a little intimate. But Hermione rolled her eyes and gave Ron a knowing look. He had no grounds to stand on about being grossed out by people showing affection, and Hermione had no issue reminding him about Lavender.   


“Oh, come on. If Harry was here, you’d be doing the same thing.” She pointed out, and Ron’s face dropped. Aha. So she wasn’t wrong, very interesting for him to be a hypocrite about this  _ still _ .   


“That’s-.” He started, and Hermione held up a finger to silence him.   


“Don’t even try and say it's different because it's  _ not.  _ Plus her and Luna are good together, don’t say anything. You’ve already been a proper ass multiple times about her dating.” Hermione reminded him and Ron was quick to shake his head, his eyes wide.   


“Oh I don’t mind that she and Luna are together! I actually thought that they  _ were  _ together after the war, after their kiss, and was a little bit disappointed that they weren’t. Luna’s a good fit for her, grounds that angry side of her-.” Hermione rolled her eyes because Ginny wasn’t  _ angry  _ per se. She was mostly passionate, and yeah she got mad, but so did everyone else in the world.   


“Okay, anyone else would be told it was the fiery side.” Hermione reminded him, and Ron nodded, clearing his throat. Apparently he wasn’t done.   


“Right. And Ginny can bring her into a bit of reality. It’s sweet.” Ron said, and Hermione gave him a small smile and kicked his shin under the table. It was nice to see Ron like this.

“Merlin. Harry’s turned you sentimental.” Hermione said with a chuckle, and earned a rightful glare from Ron… even if she knew she was correct.   


“He has not!” Ron snapped, and Hermione sighed and gave him a pointed look. Like  _ that  _ reaction was helping his case in the slightest.   


“You just  _ admitted _ that you approved of a pairing that involved your little sister.” Hermione reminded him, and Ron shrugged, like that was normal for him to do. Hermione knew otherwise, of course she did. Having been around the Weasley’s for so long she knew it was normally a cold day in Hell when Ron let Ginny be able to have her relationships.   


“Yeah? She’s seventeen now, I think it's fair that she dates-.” Hermione rolled her eyes and took another sip of her drink, a little annoyed by Ron’s patronizing tone. She didn’t doubt that he had no idea he was even doing it, but that didn’t make it okay.   


“Oh, I could strangle you. It was perfectly valid for her to be dating at 15 as well!” She pointed out, and Ron chuckled and shrugged, eyes still trained on the table.   


“ _ I  _ didn’t date at 15-.” He said, as if that made him so much better. No, it just made him sound like a bit of a dick.   


“Because you couldn’t find anyone willing to.” Hermione said, her voice deadpan, and Ron gave her a look.   


“Oi!” He warned, and Hermione shrugged, fiddling with the handle of her drink. She wouldn’t have said it if it wasn’t true.   


“Am I wrong?” Hermione asked, and yeah she was a little wrong,  _ she’d  _ liked him at that point, but he didn’t know that. He thought her feelings had started in sixth year, and who was she to correct that?   


“Well no, but-.” She cleared her throat to interrupt him.   


“Then I stand by my statement. And then there was that nauseating display with Lavender.” Hermione said, wrinkling her nose at the memory of her best friend’s constant onslaught of snogging with their fellow classmate. Ron’s ears burned red as he shrugged, fiddling with the drink in front of him.   


“Well, that was mostly her-.” She held up a finger to signify that she wasn’t done.   


“And you were a proper ass then too. I heard her sobbing for  _ weeks  _ after your relationship ended about how it felt like you never even cared about her. Like… I know there was a time that she was a bit annoying, but come on. Even  _ she  _ deserved some respect.” Hermione pointed out, and Ron rolled his eyes and elbowed her lightly.   


“Since when are you and Lavender mates?” Ron asked, and Hermione shook her head. Learning to respect someone and being friends were two completely different things, she could respect Lavender without enjoying being around her.   


“We aren’t. Although she has chilled out a significant amount since getting together with Parvati.” She sighed, and watched as Ron nearly spat out his drink, like this was new information. And maybe it was, but Hermione couldn’t see a world where someone was  _ that  _ clueless.   


“Wait… since when?” Ron asked, and Hermione chuckled and shook her head, not at all shocked that the redhead hadn’t picked up on it, it wasn’t as if he and Lavender ran in the same circles at all, so there would be no reason for him to know. Not that she ran in their circle either, she was just observant... and had asked.   


“Since  _ last year _ . It didn’t come across weird to you that Parvati was a wreck when Lav almost died after the war?” Hermione asked, and Ron blinked slowly, brows furrowed in confusion as he shook his head. It was  almost comical to watch him work this out, Hermione was moments away from laughing.    


“I just assumed that since they were best friends-.” He started, and Hermione stifled her chuckle and cleared her throat.   


“They had matching promise rings.” Hermione said, and Ron shrugged again. Oh, this was hysterical. Sure, she hadn’t confirmed it until this year, but still. She could  _ tell  _ something was going on.   


“I thought they were friendship rings!” Ron insisted, and Hermione raised an eyebrow and sighed, taking a sip of her drink.   


“Merlin, you are so daft sometimes, Ronald.” She said, and Ron glared at her and crossed his arms, like that was some giant insult. It wasn’t, it was an  _ observation  _ but it wasn’t like Hermione could tell him not to get offended.   


“Oi! Rude. Anyways… are you and Parkinson gonna watch the quidditch game this weekend?” He asked, and Hermione shrugged. She and Pansy hadn’t really talked about weekend plans, normally Pansy went and hung out with Daphne and Tracey, so as to not neglect her friendships, it was an important thing to keep the balance.   


“Probably. Quidditch has become a lot more bearable since Malfoy and Harry don’t play anymore, there's no more pissing contests. It’s actually borderline pleasant.” She admitted, and Hermione meant that. When Harry and Draco played it always seemed like a different power struggle, probably because of the rivalry on and off the field. Now she could almost enjoy the games.   


“Pleasant enough that I can convince you to let Ginny and I teach you how to ride at the burrow?” Ron asked, clearly very hopeful. Hermione was a little offended at the accusation that she had no idea how to fly, she knew the basics, she just never used them.   


“I know how to-.” She started, and Ron waved her off.   


“You’re rubbish at it.” Ron reminded her, and she had half a mind to tip his drink into his face, just for saying that… even if he  _ was  _ right about it. It’s not like she went around naming all the things that  _ he  _ was rubbish at. What kind of a friendship would that be.   


“It’s an outdated form of transportation! I’m an adult, I can apparate now!” Hermione protested, and Ron let out a laugh.   


“Yeah, but if you learn how to fly, you can…” Ron stopped on the last word, setting his lips in a thin line as he bounced his leg, clearly not wanting to say the last words. It slowly dawned on Hermione  _ why  _ Ron was asking this. Of course.   


“Oh.” She said softly, and Ron nodded and sighed.   


“It’s a little hard to play with Fred gone. I just thought maybe Ginny would be more willing to play with the family again if I got you or Harry interested.” Ron muttered into his butterbeer, eyes firmly trained on the table. Hermione scooted a little closer and rested her head against his shoulder, rubbing his back gently as she stared at the same spot on the table as he was. It wasn’t often Ron let someone in to the grief he was actually feeling, and she wasn’t just going to brush over this.   


“But it has to be me because George and Ginny would call it unfair if your boyfriend was your partner.” Hermione finished, and Ron chuckled and nodded. Of course they’d claim that, but back when Ginny liked Harry it was perfectly  _ fine  _ for him to sub in. It was an odd sort of double standard.   


“Well not in  _ so many  _ words, but yeah.” Ron sighed, and Hermione cleared her throat and nodded, nervous about having to do that, but completely willing.   


“I’d love to learn, Ron. Anything to help ease the pain.” She said, and she meant that. After the war she’d spent weeks at the Burrow, alternating with Harry between talking with Ginny, George and Ron, trying to make sure they were okay. Of course they weren’t, but that wasn’t going to stop either of them from trying.   


“Mum’s still a wreck sometimes.” Ron said, and Hermione nodded. She knew there was nothing worse for a mother than losing their child. And even if Molly had sometimes treated the twins like a thorn in her side, Hermione knew how much she really cared about them, and how much losing Fred had affected her.   


“I don’t doubt it.” Hermione said solemnly, looking away from Ron for a long moment, waiting for him to speak. She felt that if she stared at him while he was trying to work through what he wanted to say, he’d just keep it inside, and that wasn’t healthy for him.   


“I’m still a wreck sometimes.” Ron admitted, and Hermione looked at him again, at his eyes, to see tears forming at the corners as he attempted a watery smile. She sighed and leaned a bit closer, wiping away the  tears with the pads of her thumbs before lightly patting his cheek.   


“You know you can talk to me about it, right? I know I don’t have as much experience with losing family as Harry does, but I’m always willing to listen, Ron.” Hermione said softly, and Ron sighed and shrugged, looking at her again, his eyes red from the tears. Honestly, it made Hermione feel a little guilty. Had she been ignoring that Ron was still this messed up about it? Maybe, but it wasn’t intentional.   


“I know, but… I don’t want to give up my reputation of having the emotional range of a teaspoon.” Ron said, snorting out a shuddery chuckle. Hermione’s jaw dropped in shock as she glared at Ron for a moment. Of course he’d choose to crack a joke while crying about his dead brother, of  _ course  _ he would.   


“You  _ remember  _ me saying that to you?!” Hermione groaned, and Ron chuckled and nodded, like that should be obvious. It wasn’t, honestly she’d all but forgotten about saying that, she didn’t even remember the context!   


“I was in love with you back then, I remember a lot of what you said.” Ron reminded her and Hermione sighed and nodded. Of course he did. She’d paid a lot of attention to what he’d said and done back then as well, it only made sense.   


“Well, I won’t judge you if you ever want to talk to me about it. And I’ll keep Pans quiet.” She promised, and Ron gave her a sad half smile as he nodded, before looking back down at the table.   


“Thanks. That… that means a lot.” Ron muttered, and Hermione rubbed small circles on his back, unsure of how to handle this. Obviously, after the war she’d helped her friends with their grief around the war, but it was just different with Ron, she hadn’t been expecting it.

“Of course. It's what friends are for.” Hermione reminded him, and he gave her a strange smile before tucking her against his chest, resting his chin on top of her head.   


“Hermione, we aren’t friends.” He sighed, and Hermione tried to pull back, a little shocked at him saying this. Was this trip to Hogsmeade just an odd excuse to write her off for reasons that she wasn’t aware of?   


“What? How could you even say that?” She asked, and Ron smirked down at her and shrugged.   


“We’re family, idiot.” Ron murmured, and that made Hermione’s chest feel warm. Made her feel loved.


	17. October 27, 4:00PM

Ancient Runes never used to be something that Hermione found difficult, but it was so much harder to focus now. Probably because of living with Pansy, but still. It was as if she could hear Hermione’s thoughts, because she slid behind her and slowly started working the knots on Hermione’s back, practically causing her to melt beneath her fingertips.

“Oh  _ Merlin.  _ That feels  _ so  _ nice.” Hermione groaned, letting her head loll back on Pansy’s shoulder as the other witch worked a knot out of the middle of her back. She let out a quiet chuckle and pressed the ghost of a kiss to Hermione’s throat before speaking.   


“Your back always gets so tight when you’re focusing, love. You shouldn’t slouch over so much, it's not good for you.” Pansy mumbled, and Hermione sighed and glanced over at Pansy’s profile.   


“But it's so much more comfortable.” Hermione complained, and Pansy let out a sigh as she moved her hands from where she was massaging to Hermione’s stomach, tracing across the skin there. It did make her a tad self conscious the first few times that Pansy had done that, because of course she was hyper aware of the fact that she wasn’t quite as  _ trim _ as Pansy, but the Slytherin never seemed to mind, so she did her best to push the thoughts from her mind.   


“Not worth losing your mobility.” Pansy said, and Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, lifting the textbook back up in an attempt to regain her focus. It didn’t work, which was not surprising.

“Well, I have to get this deadline.” Hermione explained, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head, tilting her face to the side to press a kiss to Hermione’s cheek.   


“You work far too much.” Pansy murmured, and Hermione scoffed and dropped her textbook, trying to turn to look at Pansy, but it didn’t happen.   


“I do not!” Hermione spat, and Pansy chuckled and left a line of kisses across Hermione’s jaw before she leaned back again to speak.   


“Always have. It’s an admirable trait, but… still.” Pansy murmured, and she leaned in, dragging her lips across the skin of Hermione’s neck, nibbling ever so often, causing Hermione to groan and arch against her. It made focusing on her textbook entirely impossible, and honestly she’d lost interest anyways, so she set it to the side. This wasn’t exactly something she felt like being distracted during.

“Hm. Are you sure you’re not just  _ trying  _ to distract me?” Hermione asked, swinging her legs over Pansy’s. As much as she would never admit it, a large part of her loved that the Slytherin didn’t try to hide her smirk anymore, or the way she let her eyes ever so slowly take in every inch of Hermione’s frame. Honestly, it could probably be used in place of Confundo, because Hermione suddenly had  _ no  _ idea what she was doing a few moments ago, and couldn’t bring herself to care as Pansy’s hands dug into the curve of her waist.

“Is it working?” Her Slytherin asked, leaning up to rest her face against the curve of Hermione’s neck for a moment before tipping the Gryffindor’s face down, and softly brushing their lips together as she did.

“Always.” Hermione sighed against her lips, letting Pansy pull her closer by her hips, until there was no space left between them, Pansy sitting against the wall with her legs out, holding Hermione as close as she could on her lap, practically kissing the life out of her. And yeah, okay, Hermione had to admit that this was a million times more interesting than a passage about ancient ruins. She sank her hands into Pansy’s hair, tugging slightly and grinning into the kiss when she heard Pansy let out a low groan and rake her fingers down her back.

“Isn’t this far more relaxing?” Pansy asked, and Hermione raised an eyebrow as she pressed another heavy kiss to her lips. Relaxing? Really?   


“Relaxing is not the word I’d use.” Hermione mumbled, and Pansy grinned against her lips and raised an eyebrow, looking far too cocky for her own good. Merlin, Hermione was really considering having a firm talk with herself about the things that did it for her, because that should  _ not  _ be one.   


“Oh? That so?” Pansy asked, her voice smooth and soft as she leaned in and nipped at the skin of Hermione’s collarbone, causing her to gasp.   
“Mhm.” Hermione sighed, and Pansy sucked another mark into her neck, harder this time. The sting was more, but not unpleasant and Hermione groaned and leaned further into her.   


“What would you say?” She asked, and Hermione’s eyes rolled back for a moment as Pansy ran her tongue over the mark again.  _ Merlin _ , this was going to destroy her.   


“I would say that it’s just as…  _ stimulating  _ as learning is, just in a completely different way.” Hermione said, letting her eyes slide closed as Pansy continued kissing down the column of her neck.   


“You did not just say the word stimulating and _mean_ it.” Pansy laughed as she pulled back, looking up at Hermione fondly. What was that supposed to mean? Hermione didn’t know, but it made her rather self conscious.   


“I did.” She said quietly, and Pansy shook her head and let out a long breath as she leaned back a bit.   


“Merlin, it's like you’re 40!” Pansy chuckled, and Hermione sighed and pushed her away, crossing her arms. Way to ruin the mood, Parkinson.   


“Shove off.” She muttered, and went to stand up, but Pansy wrapped her arms tight around her waist, resting her hands lower on Hermione’s back, making it practically impossible for her to move away.   


“No! Come on, I was joking around.” Pansy insisted, resting her head against Hermione’s chest for a moment. She chuckled and lifted her hands up, fiddling with her hair as she did.   


“Hm… I don’t know…”. Hermione started, and Pansy rolled her eyes and lightly kissed every inch of skin she could reach before speaking again. Okay yeah, that was rather convincing.   


“Please.” Pansy breathed against the skin of her neck, making her shiver. She was about to speak again when Pansy sucked a patch of skin into her mouth, worrying it lightly with her teeth. Hermione’s eyes sild shut as she let out a sigh and sank down a bit more.   


“ _ Oh Merlin _ . Alright, yeah. I’m not going anywhere.” Hermione sighed blissfully, her hands digging into Pansy’s hair as the other witch slowly let go of the patch of skin, soothing over it with her tongue before looking back up at Hermione, clearly smug from how quickly Hermione had changed her tune.   


“Wow. You’re very easily convinced these days, Granger.” Pansy muttered, and Hermione scoffed and leaned back, giving Pansy a look. Rude.   


“You’re acting like you wouldn’t be convinced if the tables were flipped.” Hermione said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow and chuckled, peppering kisses across the exposed skin of Hermione’s upper chest.

“Oh I would, but I’ve shown no signs of leaving, darling.” Pansy murmured, and Hermione shivered as she smiled down at the Slytherin. She knew that Pansy’s attitude  _ shouldn’t  _ be a turn on, but Merlin if it wasn’t slowly becoming one.   


“You’re so cocky.” Hermione groaned, and Pansy let out another laugh and nibbled at the skin behind Hermione’s ear, making her shiver.   


“Oh come now, darling. You love it.” She whispered against the shell of Hermione’s ear, and Hermione let out a content sigh, leaning into the other witch. Well, there goes the idea of walking away, definitely wasn’t happening now.   


“Sometimes, yes.” Hermione admitted, and Pansy scoffed and pulled back, giving her a faux offended look.   


“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” She asked, and Hermione gave her an innocent smile and shrugged.   


“Nothing, of course.” Hermione said, and Pansy sighed and yanked Hermione back down by the front of her shirt into another kiss, biting at her lower lip, drawing a moan from Hermione before she pulled back and pressed their foreheads together.   


“Wanker.” Pansy mumbled, and Hermione grinned and nodded.   


“Mhm.” She muttered, and pulled Pansy back to her lips, settling ever closer, her homework sitting on the other side of the bed, long forgotten.


	18. October 29, 7:15PM

It was nice to be alone for a change. Not that Hermione didn’t adore her friends or love hanging out with Pansy, but sometimes it was just good to be with herself. But of course, these times never really lasted very long.

“Hermione Granger, just the woman I was looking for.” A voice rang out behind her, making her jump and she turned around to see two Slytherins leaning against the opposite bookshelf. Thank  _ Merlin  _ it was just Daphne and Tracey, not Blaise or Theo. She really didn’t want to put up with their…  _ feelings  _ right now. But she could deal with these two.   


“What do you want, Daphne?” Hermione sighed, and Daphne tsked and raised her hands in surrender, raising an eyebrow as she did.   


“No need to be rude, I come in peace.” Daphne said, and Hermione sighed and reshelved the book she was looking at before turning to mirror the other witch’s posture.   


“I’d hope so, I’m dating your best friend.” Hermione said, her voice coming out humorless, and Daphne scoffed and nodded.   


“Obviously.” She muttered, which earned her a look from her girlfriend.   


“Stop being rude, Daph.” Tracey sighed, giving Hermione an apologetic look. Daphne sighed and rolled her eyes, hopping on her toes to press a quick kiss to Tracey’s cheek.   


“Right, sorry. I was just making sure you and Pans are coming to the 8th year party?” Daphne asked, and Hermione nodded. She was pretty sure they would be, Pansy hadn’t said that she  _ didn’t  _ want to go.   


“Mhm.” She mumbled, and Daphne gave her a grin which felt like a trap. Everything Daphne Greengrass said felt like a trap at this point.   


“Good, good. She’s been increasingly hard to find the more she’s fallen for you, it's like you’re stealing our friend.” Daphne said, her voice coming out deadpan. Hermione was  _ sure  _ that was meant to be a joke, but it still felt like a dig.   


“She’s in our dorm plenty.” Hermione pointed out, and Daphne nodded, leaning against the bookshelf.   


“I don’t want to knock on the door and interrupt any…  _ fun…  _ that may be going on.” Daphne said with a chuckle, and that made Hermione freeze up. It wasn’t an outlandish assumption to make, but what did it say about her that Pansy had turned her down?   


“Well, you don’t have to worry about that.” Hermione mumbled, and Daphne raised an eyebrow, pursing her lips.   


“Come again?” She asked, and Hermione sighed. What was unclear about that?   


“Pansy and I have never had sex, Greengrass.” Hermione said, and this clearly shocked the Slytherin, who just stood, dumbfounded, for the longest minute before speaking again, running a hand through her hair.   


“Oh. Hm. Was  _ not  _ expecting that answer, but alright.” Daphne mumbled, and Hermione raised an eyebrow. Of course she knew what that meant, but it never hurt to confirm. She’d hate to hex someone over a misunderstanding.

“What do you mean?” She asked, and Daphne sighed and chewed on her lip as she spoke.   


“I mean that Pansy’s normally more physical in her relationship, it just shocks me a bit that she’s taking it slow. Unless you’re holding things up, which would not surprise me.” Daphne said, and Hermione rolled her eyes at the subtle dig. She was starting to notice that that seemed to be Daphne’s specialty.    


“Uh, no actually… she turned me down when I tried to move things forward.” Hermione said, and Daphne’s expression changed to something unreadable, but something that was  _ for sure  _ full of pity. It was annoying.   


“Weird.” Daphne said, and her look got even more pitying, which just made Hermione want to break her nose all the more. Wouldn't be the first Slytherin that she'd punched in the face, probably not the last one either.   


“Why are you looking at me like that?” Hermione asked, and Daphne raised her eyebrow.   


“Like what?” She asked, and Hermione rolled her eyes. She knew Daphne wasn't _this stupid_.   


“Like a kid who just lost their puppy.” She clarified, and Daphne shrugged. Well, this should be interesting.   


“I feel bad… like maybe she’s not-.” Tracey cleared her throat quickly, shooting a look at Pansy. Hermione’s heart sank because she knew where Daphne was going, and it was what she’d been afraid of.   


“Daphne! That’s incredibly rude to imply. I’m sorry, Hermione, she didn’t mean it.” Tracey said, and Daphne gave her girlfriend a look before crossing her arms.   


“Yes I did-.” Tracey clapped a hand over Daphne’s mouth and gave Hermione a quick smile as she let the other Slytherin go.   


“I don’t care that you’re my girlfriend, I am not above hexing you.” Tracey warned, and Daphne scoffed, gripping her chest in mock offense before turning back to Hermione.   


“Rude, isn’t she?” Daphne asked, and before Hermione could say anything, Tracey rolled her eyes and looped her arm through the other Slytherin’s.   


“I’m gonna get her out of here before she says anything  _ else  _ that could be taken as rude. See you at the party, Granger.” Tracey called as she dragged the other Slytherin off. Hermione was stuck for a moment, not able to respond until they were already out of sight.   


“Yeah… you too.” She mumbled, and mulled over what was said to her. Daphne was going to say that maybe Pansy wasn’t attracted to her,and she  _ meant  _ it. Which made Hermione feel even shittier. But, she decided there was one person she should check with before just  _ deciding  _ that Daphne was right, so she started the walk up to her dorm, letting her thoughts get louder and louder until she opened to door to a smiling Pansy sprawled out on her bed, reading a book.   


“Oh hey, I was just going to look for-woah. Are you alright?” Pansy asked, sounding concerned as she closed her textbook and sat up, looking up at Hermione with a concerned look on her face. Hermione crossed her arms across her chest and cleared her throat, eyes trained on the grains of wood on the ground.   


“Do you not find me physically attractive?” Hermione asked quickly, the words practically flying from her mouth. Pansy raised an eyebrow and cocked her head, looking confused.   


“What? Where is this coming from?” She asked, and Hermione sighed and shrugged.   


“Well, you turned me down, and you hardly ever make the first move, and I just-.” Pansy held up a finger to silence her and took a deep breath before speaking.   


“I want this to  _ work _ .  _ Because  _ I’m so attracted to you. I don’t want to lose such a good thing, alright?” Pansy asked, and Hermione paused. Yeah, that made sense but it was so out of character for Pansy, even after she’d changed, at least in Hermione’s eyes.   


“So you do… want me in that way?” Hermione asked quietly, and Pansy was very quick to nod. Almost too quick.   


“Mhm. I have for quite some time, but I want it to happen in the right order. Actual relationship first.” Pansy explained, and Hermione let out a tiny sigh of relief. Of course she knew that, but it was reassuring to hear.   


“Okay…” Hermione said, and Pansy still looked scared as she pulled the back of Hermione’s hand to her lips, leaving a quick kiss there.   


“Who made you feel like this?” Pansy asked gently, and Hermione sighed, letting her head hang. It was embarrassing that she let someone she hardly knew get into her head, it was so unlike her.   


“Well, I was talking to Daphne-.” She started, and Pansy sighed and grimaced, looking a little upset.   


“Take everything she says with a grain of salt. I was a horny little 16 year old when we dated, suffice to say I’ve grown up a bit. Not that there’s anything wrong with incredibly physical relationships, those hold their own merit, it's just… I don’t want this to be just physical.” Pansy reminded her, and Hermione sighed and nodded. Of course  _ now  _ was when Pansy decided that she had to become so fucking noble, Merlin.   


“Right…” She sighed, and and Pansy cleared her throat.   


“I’m serious. Don’t get me wrong, Granger. You’re…  _ fucking  _ gorgeous. Stunning. Sexy-.” Hermione rolled her eyes. Pansy didn’t need to  _ lie  _ to her right now, that was hardly fair to either of them.   


“Pansy-.” Hermione tried, but the Slytherin raised an eyebrow to quiet her.   


“Let me finish. And I want you in every single way that it's possible, okay?” Pansy asked, holding Hermione's hand gently in hers. It made her heart skip just a bit, and she let out a sigh.   


“... Okay. Yeah.” She mumbled, and they were quiet for a long moment as Pansy bounced her leg nervously.   


“Do you believe me?” Pansy asked softly, and Hermione’s lips formed a thin line as she shrugged. She wanted to, more than anything, but she just wasn’t there.   


“I’m trying.” Hermione insisted, and Pansy sighed and nodded, looking a little pained as she did.   


“I know I haven’t always been honest, but… I’m really trying my best this time, okay?” Pansy asked, and Hermione sighed and nodded. Of course she knew Pansy was trying, even if it made her a little self conscious.   


“I know, Pans. I know.” She insisted, and Pansy wrapped a hand around Hermione’s wrist, giving her a small smile.   


“C’mere.” Pansy said, trying to pull her over, but Hermione held strong. She wasn’t in the mood for anything physical right now, she was still a little bit raw.   


“Not in the mood-.” Hermione started, but Pansy shook her head and gave her the most sincere look that Hermione had ever seen on her face.   


“I just want to hold you. Please?” Pansy asked, still holding lightly onto her wrist. Hermione felt her heart skip and she couldn’t help her smile when she nodded and settled down beside Pansy, letting the other witch pull her close.   


“Oh. In that case… yeah.” She mumbled, sighing as she let her eyes shut.   


“You always smell incredible.” Pansy whispered, and Hermione let out a small chuckle and lifted her head a bit.   


“Do you make a habit of smelling me?” Hermione teased, and Pansy let out a groan and smacked her arm lightly before pressing her face back between Hermione’s shoulder blades and letting out sigh.   


“Well no, but I’ve accidentally put on your shirt enough times to know that I absolutely love being surrounded by something that reminds me of you.” Pansy explained, and Hermione smirked as she closed her eyes, tucking a hand under her cheek as she did.   


“Hm. Clingy.” She sighed, and Pansy let out a huff and tried to sit up.   


“Shut up.” Pansy said, and Hermione grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down, wrapping Pansy’s arm around her waist herself.   


“No, I like it.” Hermione insisted, and Pansy paused for a moment before she responded.   


“Is that so?” Pansy asked smoothly, sounding rather pleased with herself.   


“Yeah. It reminds me that… this isn’t just you fucking around.” Hermione said, feeling her cheeks heat up as Pansy chuckled and leaned over, pressing a kiss to Hermione’s jaw before lying back down and curling around Hermione’s back.   


“Of course it's not. I promised.” Pansy said softly, and Hermione felt compelled to believe her as she slowly drifted off, far more relaxed then she had been just a few moments ago. Funny how Pansy had come to have that effect on her.


	19. October 31, 7:15PM

“We don’t have to go to this if you don’t want to. We could stay in… have a party of our own.” Pansy offered, and Hermione bit her lip to keep a smile down. Merlin would she  _ ever _ like that, but it wasn’t what they’d planned. She'd literally told Daphne a few days ago that they would be there.   


“Tempting… but you promised your friends you’d go to this.” Hermione reminded her and Pansy huffed. She’d been trying to get out of going to the party for the better part of half an hour, and Hermione was having none of it. She would not be painted as the girlfriend who refused to let loose and have fun. She could be  _ very  _ fun when she wanted to be.   


“Yes, but that was  _ before  _ I realized just how little I actually wanted to go. It’s just going to be a night of them getting shitfaced and Theo and Blaise forgetting their manners… and their boundaries. I swear, if I make it out of this party without hitting one of them I will be shocked.” Pansy said, and Hermione swallowed heavily. She knew that the idea of seeing Pansy beating someone up was  _ not  _ meant to intrigue her, but here she was. Very much wanting to see that at least once before they graduated.   


“Please don’t do that.” Hermione sighed, and she heard Pansy let out a low chuckle. Great.   


“No promises.” Pansy said. Well, that should be fun to deal with, but that was an issue for the future Hermione. The current Hermione just had to deal with seeing if Pansy liked her outfit. She cleared her throat and turned around, seeing Pansy raise her eyes.   


“How do I look?” Hermione asked, and she saw Pansy’s mouth open for just a second and then close, like she was at a loss for words.   


“Wow.” Pansy breathed, and Hermione did a quick turn to show the full outfit and watched Pansy’s eyes widen. That either meant that she loved it and Hermione had made a very good choice, or she hated it and had made a terrible mistake. And only words would tell her that much.   


“Do you like it?” Hermione asked, and Pansy seemed to shake back into herself as she nodded, giving Hermione another once over.   


“ _ Love  _ it… but I need a closer look.” Pansy said with a smirk as she lounged back on one elbow, beckoning Hermione with the curl of her finger. The Gryffindor raised her eyebrow, but hung back.   


“Is that so?” She asked, and Pansy nodded, this time sitting up and pulling Hermione in by the waist, running her hands up her sides, causing goosebumps to form in her wake. This shouldn’t be so erotic, Hermione knew that, but Pansy had a way of making  _ everything  _ so sexually charged without even meaning to.   


“Mhm. Just to  _ really  _ decide.” Pansy murmured, leaning in to suck a harsh mark into Hermione’s neck, causing her to gasp.   


“Well, who would I be if I denied you that pleasure.” She groaned, her eyes sliding shut as she fisted her hands in Pansy’s short hair. After a moment the Slytherin pulled back, clearly pleased with her work.   


“Mmm. Mhm, I  _ really  _ like this on you.” Pansy murmured, and Hermione breathed in a shaky breath, steeling herself for another rejection.   


“So about staying in…” She tried, but Pansy shook her head. Of course.   


“Nope, you made good points. Now we have to go.” Pansy said, lightly patting Hermione's thighs as she did. Hermione huffed and rolled her eyes, letting her hands drop back onto her lap.   


“You did that on purpose.” Hermione said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow, as if she was completely innocent.   


“What?” She asked, and Hermione shook her head.    


“Tease.” Hermione grumbled, and Pansy seemed rather amused by this.   


“Am I?” Pansy asked with a grin before leaning in and nipping at the skin of Hermione’s collarbone, causing her to pull in a harsh breath. Oh,  _ Merlin _ , did that feel good.  _ Too _ good, as Pansy continued moving her lips lower. She was going to be  _ such  _ a wreck if they actually went to the party.   


“ _ Yes _ .” Hermione sighed, and for a moment it was like time didn’t exist as Pansy bit and sucked every inch of skin that was available to her, until suddenly she stopped.  _ Why  _ stop? Hermione was clearly enjoying herself.   


“We really need to go.” Pansy panted against the skin of her chest. Hermione opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow.   


“Now?” She asked, and Pansy nodded against her. Fucking hell.   


“Before we get carried away and don’t go at all.” Pansy groaned, but her hands were still balled in the hem of Hermione’s shirt, holding her close. It was impossible for her to move even if she wanted to, and luckily she  _ didn’t  _ want to. She couldn’t imagine why  _ anyone  _ would want to move if they were in her position, with a pretty girl under them.

“Not seeing a problem…” Hermione sighed as Pansy nibbled at the skin just behind her ear, causing her to lean her head back a bit to give her more room. She was hoping that was convincing enough, but apparently today was not her day. The cards were not in her hands.   


“Hermione. I promise we can do more of this later, but you’re right about what you said earlier. We made commitments.” Pansy mumbled, pressing one last kiss to the side of her neck before slowly making Hermione stand up, pulling herself up in the process. Yeah, because Hermione  _ really  _ wanted to go to a party when she was  _ this  _ uncomfortably turned on. Seemed like a wonderful idea.   


“Fine.” Hermione sighed, and she let Pansy lead her into the party by the waist, sort of loving how close Pansy was holding her, like she didn’t want to lose her.   


“ _ There  _ you two are! I was convinced you weren’t going to show up!” Daphne called over the music, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head, arm still locked tight around Hermione’s waist, not that she was  complaining.   


“Don’t be crazy, we said we’d show and here we are.” Pansy sighed, and Daphne gave Hermione a half smile and nodded an acknowledgement at her.   


“Wow, Granger. Looking good.” She said, and Pansy narrowed her glare and dug her fingers into Hermione’s waist a little more. Ouch.   


“Thin ice, Daph.” Pansy said, her teeth clenched.   


“I’ve got my own girlfriend, I was just paying yours a compliment.” Daphne said, and Pansy rolled her eyes, clearly not convinced that Daphne meant no harm. Hermione just found it a little funny how quickly Daphne could switch up on things.   


“Right…” Pansy sighed, and Hermione lightly put a hand on her bicep to get her attention.   


“Do you want me to grab you a drink?” She asked softly, and Pansy gave her a small smile and nodded, bringing Hermione’s hand up to her lips to drop a quick kiss on the back of it.   


“Firewhiskey if you wouldn’t mind.” Pansy said, and Hermione nodded.   


“On it.” She said, and slowly made her way through the crowd to get Pansy her drink.   


“A pretty lady like you shouldn’t have to get her own drinks.” Hermione heard a low voice ring out, and she sighed and rolled her eyes as she turned around to see Theo smiling down at her. Again? She really thought this shit was done.   


“Then I guess it's  _ really  _ good that it’s Pansy’s not mine.” Hermione said, and Theo scoffed and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall.   


“Come on, her? I’m a  _ billion  _ times better… just ask anyone I’ve been with.” He said with a wink, and Hermione tried to suppress her grimace as she shook her head. Even if she and Pansy  _ didn’t  _ get together, there  wasn’t a world she could imagine where she would even consider fucking Theodore Nott.   


“I don’t know, Pansy’s had some raving reviews… plus I don’t like you.” Hermione said, her voice a deadpan, and Theo gave her a condescending smile. Ugh.   


“You mean you aren’t  _ attracted  _ to me yet.” Theo corrected, and Hermione shook her head. Theo wasn't bad looking, he was just being a dick and not respecting boundaries.   


“No. I mean I genuinely don’t you like you. You won’t take no for an answer and you’re trying to get between me and my girlfriend which I really don’t appreciate.” Hermione reminded him, and Theo shrugged, clearly seeing no issue with his actions. Dick.

“I’m just showing that there’s better options.”   
“ _ Please _ , as if you’re even a last resort!”   
“But-.”   


“She said get lost, Nott. Now.” Pansy said, and Hermione jumped, looking behind her to see Pansy standing close, staring Theo down as she slowly slid her arms around Hermione's waist, pulling her back slightly as she did, not that she minded that.   


“Fine.” Theo sighed, and he actually did leave, so that was a plus.   


“Was he bothering you?” Pansy asked, glaring worriedly at the retreating boy’s frame. Hermione shrugged and swirled Pansy’s drink around in her hand, turning around to face her   


“A bit, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Clearly, since I’m here. Firewhiskey.” She said, holding it out, and Pansy took it, looking skeptical as she did.   


“Thanks… actually…” Pansy sighed and waved her hand over the drink, vanishing the liquid inside. Again, Hermione found herself impressed by the wandless magic, but also rather confused.   


“Why’d you do that?” Hermione asked as Pansy poured herself a fresh drink and shrugged.   


“You stand with drinks too open, Merlin knows what someone could drop into it.” Pansy sighed, and Hermione raised an eyebrow.   


“What are you…  _ Oh _ .” She said as it set in. Pansy’d been roofied before. Well, that pissed her off, because how dare someone do that?   


“Yeah. Oh.” Pansy said quietly, and Hermione chewed on her lip. She knew that if she got the answer she was expecting from the question, she was probably going to get  _ very  _ angry.

“Has that happened to you?” Hermione asked quietly, and Pansy nodded.   


“Nearly, and I’m sure if Daphne wasn’t watching my drink like a hawk I would’ve consumed it, but she knocked it from my hand. The guy was never caught though, and that  _ really  _ bothers me.” Pansy sighed, tipping her fresh drink back into her mouth. Yeah, that made Hermione's heart sink because that had to be so terrifying.   


“Yeah, me too…” Hermione murmured, and for a moment they stayed quiet, before Pansy cleared her throat.   


“Anyways um… wanna dance?” Pansy asked, jerking her head to the side, and Hermione paused for a moment. She'd only ever really danced with Viktor at the Yule ball and this was very different... but still...   


“Sure. I’d like that.” She admitted, and let Pansy lead her over, wrapping her arms around Pansy's neck as she did her waist.   


“You’re pretty good at this.” Pansy muttered, and Hermione raised an eyebrow. What?  


“I’m just swaying.” Hermione said with a snort and Pansy shrugged.   


“Well, it looks natural.” Pansy said, smiling down at her and Hermione returned it and tucked her head against Pansy's chest.   


“Thanks, Pans.” She murmured, and they continued to sway as she felt Pansy's hand slip off her back and graze across her ass. Genuinely, she could tell it was an accident from how quickly Pansy moved back and cleared her throat.   


“Sorry, my hand slipped-.” Pansy said quickly, and Hermione reached up and cupped her cheeks, leaning Pansy's face down.   


“I didn’t mind.” Hermione said quickly, and Pansy blinked her surprise.   


“Really?” Pansy asked, as if she was surprised, and Hermione chuckled and rolled her eyes, hopping up on her toes so she could speak quietly.   


“It’s like you’re shocked that I’m attracted to you or something. Cute, but not needed.” Hermione murmured against the shell of her ear as she pressed herself even closer, hearing the hitch in Pansy’s breathing. Perfect.   


“I um… okay.” Pansy said, her voice coming out a little breathless.   


“I don’t mind it when you touch me, Pans. I trust you.” Hermione mumbled, tucking her face against Pansy’s neck and pressing a quick kiss there. The Slytherin nodded and cleared her throat, carefully disentangling them from each other.   


“Good. That's… That’s good. Um… I’m going to go grab something, I’ll be right back.” Pansy said, and Hermione nodded, trying not to have her mind freak out. It didn’t work. What if Pansy was only leaving right now because she didn’t want Hermione around her?   


“Don’t be long.” She said, and Pansy smiled down at her and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before straightening up.   


“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Pansy insisted, and then she disappeared into the crowd   


“You’re looking  _ good  _ tonight, Granger.” Hermione heard a slimy voice say, and she felt someone's hand skim over her ass, and she knew for a _fact_ it wasn't Pansy, she was still making her way back over.   


“What the fuck? Don’t touch me!” Hermione spat, spinning away from the perpetrator and smacking his hand away. Unsurprisingly, she came face to face with Goyle. Of course, of  _ course  _ if he wasn’t calling her a slur he was trying to feel her up. What did surprise her was how quickly Malfoy stood up, trying to make his way over, his face angry, but he was held back by Tracey and Daphne. Still, it  _ was  _ unclear which one of them he’d been mad at.   


“Calm down, Granger. It’s a compliment.” Goyle sighed, and reached out to touch her again, but before he could, someone stepped between them, and Hermione would recognize her perfume anymore. Thank Merlin Pansy was back.   


“Oi! Get your fucking hand off of her, what the hell is your problem?” Pansy growled, backing Goyle a couple feet away, her fingers toying with her wand. Before she could do anything however, someone stepped between her and Goyle.

“Oh, calm down, Pans. he was just having a little fun.” Theo sighed, and Hermione watched Pansy’s entire posture change from threatening to completely menacing. Well. That’d been a shit move on Theo’s part.   


“ _ Really _ .” Pansy snapped, and Hermione watched as Theo shrank and held up his hands in surrender, trying to move back to no avail.   


“Well, I obviously don’t mean-.” Theo started, but Pansy cut him off just as quickly as he started.   


“So tell me what you do mean.” She said evenly, and Theo swallowed heavily, glancing around the room.   


“Uh…” Theo said, clearing his throat as he did.   


“That’s what I thought.” Pansy said quietly, and Hermione reached up and softly squeezed Pansy’s shoulder, her heart leaping a bit when Pansy reached up and squeezed her hand back without even looking away.   


“Pansy, I didn’t mean it-.” Theo tried, and Pansy let out a humorless laugh.   


“Oh really? You didn’t  _ mean  _ it? That’s why you tried to justify Greg grabbing my girlfriend? Is because you  _ didn’t  _ mean how you said it? Is my relationship seriously that much of a fucking joke to you guys?” Pansy spat, her voice getting louder and louder with every word, and Hermione wanted to reach out and stop her… but at the same time, no she did not want to. She wanted her to slap the shit out of Theo.

“Pans-.” Theo tried again, but Pansy was apparently hearing none of it.   


“Seriously? I  _ finally  _ find someone that makes me happy and you guys can’t even respect it? At this point I don’t even know why I’m friends with you!” Pansy said, her voice shaking as it began to betray her emotions.   


“Please, let me explain-.” Theo pleaded   


“Mate, I think you need to go.” Harry piped up, and Hermione jumped, shocked to see him emerge from behind her. He gave her a quick comforting squeeze on the shoulder, but didn’t take his eyes off the Slytherin, who merely scoffed at him.   


“Shove off, Potter.” He said, and before Harry could say anything else, another voice rang out. Well, this was just becoming  _ quite  _ the ordeal, wasn’t it?   


“He’s right, Theo. Back the fuck off.” Daphne spat as she came in from the side of the room, Draco following close behind. Alright, so holding him back hadn’t gone well, and Tracey holding  _ her  _ back hadn’t even worked for a full five minutes.   


“Seriously, Daphne?  _ Draco? _ You’re siding with  _ her _ ?” Theo asked, as if he couldn’t believe it. Why wouldn’t they? Hermione wasn’t the one defending someone clearly in the wrong.   


“Maybe if you hadn’t been a  _ dick  _ I would side with you.” Draco said cooly, and Hermione saw his fists were still clenched as he took a step forward. He was probably upset on Pansy’s behalf, but still, it was kind of nice.   


“Come on, ‘Mione. Let’s go. I shouldn’t have made you come to this in the first place.” Pansy snapped, giving Theo one last glare before pulling Hermione along by her hand, storming at an impressive clip back to their dorm, and not stopping until the door was slammed behind them. Hermione was quick to cast a locking charm and a ward on the door, so as to keep anyone from interrupting.   


“Are you alright?” She asked, unsure of whether or not she should try and comfort her right now.   


“Fucking bastard.” Pansy grumbled, and Hermione nodded. That did  _ not  _ answer her question.   


“That was quite the reaction. Are you sure you’re okay?” Hermione asked, and Pansy took a deep breath and nodded. Not a believable response, but alright.   


“Yeah, I’m fine. He was just annoying me.” Pansy sighed, leaning against the wall of their dorm as she did. Hermione reached forward to rest a hand on her shoulder, and was surprised when Pansy caught it and laced their fingers together, holding their entwined hands to her chest as she glared at nothing.   


“Pans-.” Hermione started, and Pansy let out a long breath and shook her head, squeezing her her hand quickly.   


“It’s just like… I can’t stand the thought that this isn’t something real. Like, I’m already insecure about messing this up and then  _ they  _ come along and treat it like something that they can fuck around with, and it bothers me.” Pansy spat, and Hermione’s heart sped up. Okay. There was a possibility she could still be reading this wrong.   


“What are you saying, Pans?” Hermione asked carefully.   


“I want to be with you. Really. Like… I’m ready, if you are.” Pansy said and Hermione’s voice was lost in her throat. Of course she wanted that, she’d wanted that for a while now, but saying it… that was a different story.   


“I…” She tried, and watched as Pansy’s face dropped and she began fiddling with her fingers. Oh. Shit.   


“Say something, please.” Pansy said quietly, and Hermione cleared her throat, giving her a reassuring smile.   


“Finally.” Hermione breathed, and she reached up to wrap a hand around the back of Pansy’s neck, pulling her lips down into a messy kiss, not really caring about that in the moment. What mattered was how  _ right  _ it felt. She heard Pansy let out an audible sigh against her lips as she wrapped her hands around the backs of Hermione’s thighs, lifting her with ease to wrap her legs around her waist. And that was something that never failed to shock Hermione, how Pansy managed to be so  _ strong _ . She deepened the kiss, opening her mouth slightly to slide her tongue between Pansy’s lips, and she heard the Slytherin let out a groan as she pulled back to rest their foreheads together.   


“‘Mione-.” Pansy panted, but she wasn’t in the mood to have a conversation about this right now so she yanked Pansy close again.   


“Less talking, Parkinson.” Hermione murmured, their lips practically flush. She caught them again as Pansy slowly staggered back and fell down on one of their beds, a hand coming off Hermione’s waist to rest behind her as the other gently pressed Hermione back.   


“Hold on,  _ Merlin _ , hold on.” Pansy breathed, and Hermione pulled back, suddenly feeling panic grip her chest. Had she fucked this up?   


“What's wrong, love? Did I read that wrong-.” Pansy quickly shook her head and reached up to press a quick kiss to her lips.   


“No! Not at all, I just wanted to check… Did you lock the door when we got in?” Pansy asked, casting a worried glance towards the door, and Hermione nodded. Why wouldn’t she, after the shit that happened out there? She could still hear Daphne berating Goyle and Theo.   


“Of course I did. I warded it as well.” Hermione said, and Pansy gave her a grin that sent shivers down her spine as she slowly dragged her hands back down Hermione’s back to her waist, pulling her closer.   


“Good. Because I plan on taking all the time in the world, and I don’t exactly want to have to stop for anyone.” Pansy murmured, glancing between Hermione’s eyes and lips rapidly, and Hermione let exactly what  _ that  _ meant in.

“Wha… Oh.  _ Oh _ .” She said quietly, feeling her face flush a bit. Pansy leaned back and gave her a look that read as a little unsure as she went to lift her hands.   


“If that’s alright?” Pansy asked and Hermione nodded, pressing her hands back down and shifting closer.   


“More than. Come here.” She murmured and pressed her lips upon Pansy’s waiting ones, loving how the Slytherin seemed to melt a bit then, but only for a moment before she got her wits back and flipped their positions, slotting a thigh on either side of Hermione’s as the she stared down at where she was, laid flat on her bed, breathing heavily. She’d been waiting for this.   



	20. October 31, 8:00PM

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW/TW: sexual content

The second that Hermione’s back hit Pansy’s mattress, she knew that she wasn’t going to be leaving this bed until the next morning, and there wasn’t a single complaint she could think of about that, not with Pansy successfully wiping every coherent thought from her mind by thoroughly kissing her. It was nice that she was being so careful, and still taking it so slow, despite how she’d apparently been in her past relationships… Hermione liked to think that that made her different, not that she saw an issue with being physical right away, but it had to  _ mean  _ something that Pansy had been the one to set the pace, right?

“Love, you’ve got to get out of your own head for a bit.” Pansy breathed against her lips, startling her from her own thoughts. Had she missed something important? It didn’t seem like it, because she’d felt the warm pressure of Pansy’s lips on hers the whole time she’d been thinking… maybe she’d been forgetting to kiss back, what with all the things racing through her mind, she supposed that was entirely possible.

“Sorry?” Hermione asked, and Pansy chuckled and pressed another firm kiss against her lips before speaking.

“You think too much sometimes, I intend on making it that you physically  _ can’t  _ for a bit, if that’s what you’d like.” Pansy said, running her finger lightly down the side of Hermione’s face as she spoke.

“I would. I would like that very much.” Hermione breathed, her heart speeding up a bit at Pansy’s words.

“Wonderful. I’ve… I can’t even  _ explain  _ to you how long I’ve wanted you like this.” She said, and Hermione chuckled because last time  _ she  _ checked, the one holding up this side of their relationship wasn’t her.

“You could’ve had me.” Hermione reminded her, and Pansy shook her head, an odd look on her face for a second, before it returned back to normal.

“Not when it started.” Pansy mumbled, and Hermione raised her eyebrow, making note to ask about that later as she  _ was  _ curious… that made it sound like it had been quite a while.

“Perhaps not… but you’ve got me now.” She said quickly, and Pansy nodded.

“Oh, I know. And I intend to make full use of that.” Pansy sighed, tucking her face into Hermione’s neck before sucking a patch of skin between her teeth, worrying it slightly. At this point, this was nothing they hadn’t done before, it was just the inherent eroticism of it now, knowing that there was more to come.

“ _ Fuck _ , Pans.” Hermione breathed, tightening her fingers into Pansy’s short locks as she released the skin on her neck.

“I haven’t even done anything yet, love.” She murmured, an amused tone in her voice and Hermione nodded as she pulled in a long, shaky breath. It wasn’t that Pansy had done anything, it was just this whole situation… very overwhelming.

“I know… it’s just…  _ knowing  _ that you want to is…  _ amazing _ .” Hermione admitted, and a smile spread across Pansy’s face as she nodded. Okay, so that was a good thing to say, she made note of that.

“Well, I’m glad. May I?” Pansy asked, jutting her chin towards Hermione’s shirt. For a moment she wanted to say no as the reality of this all set in. Pansy was going to have to see her naked, and she hadn’t prepared herself for that at all. But her mind quieted down when she saw the soft, trustworthy look in Pansy’s eye as she ran her fingers softly up and down Hermione’s clothed abdomen.

“‘Course.”

“Wow. I… I didn’t realize that you weren’t wearing a bra.” Pansy said, her voice catching a few times as her eyes trained on the newly exposed skin. Hermione couldn’t tell if that was a bad thing or a good thing… well, she could  _ guess _ , but she didn’t want to guess incorrectly.

“Sorry if it's not what you were wanting- _ Ah _ .” Hermione gasped as Pansy pushed her back down onto the bed, leaning down to press soft kisses across her chest, which felt impossibly good. It  _ shouldn’t  _ feel that good, right?

“In the kindest way I can mean it, shut the fuck up. I was  _ surprised _ . In a good way. I quite like being able to see my girlfriend in her most natural state… I happen to find your body rather sexy, and whether you choose to believe me or not on that is entirely your call.” Pansy murmured, and Hermione took a deep breath, trying to convince herself that that was true.

“Right…” She sighed, and Pansy sighed and shook her head, sliding an arm under Hermione’s waist, pulling her a little closer.

“Merlin, come here. I can’t wait any longer.” Pansy said, and pulled Hermione to her lips. Wait. Not yet.

“ _Oh_ , Pans, wait.” Hermione said, and Pansy sat up quickly, running a hand through her hair as she looked at her with concern.

“Did I hurt you?” She asked quickly, and Hermione furrowed her brows because _how_ did that make sense? There was no way for that to even happen in that moment...

“What? No. Not at all. How would you even… never mind. I was just going to ask if I could see you too.” Hermione mumbled, and the relief that came across Pansy’s face was nearly comical. Honestly.

“Oh! Yes, of course. Just a moment.” She said, quickly yanking both garments over her head. “Well?” She asked, and Hermione swallowed on a dry throat as she let her eyes slowly rake up Pansy’s upper body. She knew objectively that Pansy was in good shape, she at least ran daily, but it was one thing to know it and a whole other thing to actually _know_ it.

“I… um… wow.” She stammered, and Pansy chuckled and laid back down beside her.

“Like what you see?” Pansy asked, and Hermione quickly nodded. More than liked it, that was for sure. Merlin’s  _ beard _ .

“Love it. Merlin, do I ever love it.” Hermione murmured, and she felt her heart skip at how large Pansy’s smile was.

“Charming.” Pansy murmured, and Hermione nodded. Wasn’t the first time she’d heard that, probably wouldn’t be the last either.

“So I’ve been told.” Hermione said, and Pansy’s fingers traced over her body, coming to a stop on her breasts

“So pretty.” She breathed, and Hermione rolled her eyes.

“Pans, they’re just my tits.” Hermione deadpanned, and Pansy nodded. Was this was sex with her going to be like?

“Mhm. And they’re  _ beautiful _ .” Pansy said, sounding far too serious for that sentence.

“Merlin, you’re a dork.” Hermione sighed, but she felt a smile spread across her face nonetheless as her cheeks became a bit hot, and Pansy gave her a worried look as she leaned back a bit.

“You’re blushing. Are you embarrassed?” Pansy asked, and Hermione shook her head. That wasn’t the correct word.

“No, I just wasn’t expecting…” Hermione trailed off, not quite sure if she actually wanted to say it, tempted to just stop there, but Pansy wasn’t having it.

“Wasn’t expecting…” She prompted, and Hermione took a deep breath.

“I wasn’t expecting you to like it so much.” Hermione said, grimacing a bit about the fact that she'd referred to her body as 'it'. Merlin, was her intelligence failing her right now...

“I love it.” Pansy assured her, and that made her chest feel warm.

“Well, I suppose that’s probably a good thing, then.” Hermione said, feeling a little dumb as a look of confusion crossed Pansy's features. She'd said that in such an odd way.

“Of course it is. Can’t see a world where that’s possibly an insult.” Pansy muttered, and Hermione sighed and nodded. Okay, fair.

“Right…” She watched as Pansy continued tracing over the rest of her body, coming to stop at the scar on her arm, the one Bellatrix had given her last year and she froze.

“When did this happen?” Pansy asked, her voice so achingly gentle that Hermione held herself back from yanking her hand away.

“On the road.” She said, and luckily, that was enough of an explanation. She didn't exactly feel like going into detail about her trauma during foreplay, sort of seemed like a buzzkill.

“Merlin, I’m sorry love.” Pansy breathed, and Hermione shook her head. She didn't want to talk or think about that right now, because this was good. A good thing was happening right now.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to look at it.” Hermione said, and Pansy shook her head. Oh. Great.

“No, I don’t mind. I think it's important that you know that I enjoy every part of you. Even those that you perceive to be imperfect.” Pansy insisted, pressing her lips quickly to the scarred skin, and then the unscarred skin just a couple centimeters over from it, just the same.

“You don’t know that-.” Hermione started, and Pansy raised her head

“So why don’t you let me confirm my theory, then?” She asked, and Hermione swallowed, feeling her throat get a little dry. This was the part she’d been the most nervous about.

“I… Yeah, okay.” Hermione said, and she let Pansy shuck the rest of her clothing down her legs, shivering at the intensity of her eyes. Was she judging her or appreciating her right now? It was hard to tell, they looked the same… or, they looked the same until Pansy’s smile returned.

“See? You’re so beautiful.” Pansy insisted, her eyes slowly raking up Hermione’s body, and she barely resisted the urge to cover herself.

“I’ve let myself go a bit-.” Hermione started, and Pansy’s head snapped up, face completely dropped, unreadable as she reached one hand out and cupped Hermione’s face, hand still impossibly gentle.

“Stop.” She stated, her voice coming out soft yet commanding, and Hermione raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t really doing anything, not that she could tell at least.

“What?” She asked and Pansy gave her a look.

“Stop being an ass about yourself. I find it rather rude.” Pansy said smoothly, and Hermione almost let out a laugh because  _ what  _ was that even supposed to mean?

“How is it rude to you?” Hermione asked and Pansy shrugged.

“Because that’s my girlfriend you’re talking about, and I am not someone who enjoys hearing someone being an ass about the person I love.” Pansy said, and Hermione’s jaw dropped. Did Pansy just admit that? Seriously?  _ Right  _ now? That wasn’t something that she was able to completely process because  _ how  _ could someone who looked like Pansy, acted like Pansy, and had the connections she has  _ ever  _ want someone like her.

“Say that again.” Hermione breathed quietly, and Pansy arched her brow, clearly confused. She must’ve not even realized that she said it… so how often did she think about it, if it was just a force of habit?

“That’s my girlfri-.” That was enough, that was all Hermione needed to hear before she shoved Pansy onto her back, crawling on top of her before pressing a heavy kiss to the Slytherin’s mouth, letting her fingers wander down her body before she moved her mouth down to her neck, sucking harshly down it, wanting to leave any reminder she could that this  _ actually  _ happened… and then her fingers met a waistband, and she paused. This was where they’d stopped last time, so she waited for a moment to see if there was any hesitation, but Pansy’s body stayed the same, and she said nothing. Okay. That was… that was probably good, right?

“Off. Take… take these off.” Hermione growled as she bit down on Pansy’s pulsepoint again, licking over the spot when she was done, hearing Pansy’s breathing quicken when she took another patch of skin into her mouth. She felt the other witch shove at her a bit, and she released her, a little wide eyed, a little worried she’d fucked up. But it wasn’t that, no. Pansy merely moved her off of her lap for a moment before standing up and nearly tearing off the rest of her own clothing, and for a long moment Hermione couldn’t move. She could only stare at the perfection before her. Pansy’s body was pure art, she knew that for a fact, so carefully sculpted, well taken care of and groomed… not like her own, though Pansy still seemed to like her. And Merlin did she  _ ever  _ like Pansy, she liked every part. She must’ve been thinking too much again, because before she could do anything, Pansy was sliding back onto her lap, so thrillingly naked, and taking her face in her hands.

“ _ Fuck _ , Mione.” Pansy breathed, and she pulled Hermione’s lips back against hers, closing any distance that was between them. It took one moment for Hermione to remember to move her lips, and another for her to remember she could move her hands. She slowly let them stroke up Pansy’s thighs, fueled by the small sounds coming from Pansy’s throat as their kissing became more and more messy and hurried. It wasn’t until Hermione’s hands cupped Pansy’s breasts, squeezing slightly, that she let out a keening moan that snapped something inside of Hermione. She was quick to flip their positions, landing back on top of Pansy and staring down at her, her heart pounding at how wide Pansy’s grin was, how Pansy’s fingers seemed to know exactly where to wander to make her lose her breath. She wanted to hear that sound again. And again. As much as she could, really, so she slid her thigh up, slotting it between both of Pansy’s, earning her another moan, this one just a tad quieter. And then she started to  _ move _ , and Merlin, if she’d thought that moving her hands around the rest of Pansy’s body was amazing, she hadn’t been prepared for feeling her pulsing against her thigh, feeling the wetness of her slide as she began to grind against her.

“Is this alright?” Hermione asked, moving her thigh a little faster, trying to match Pansy’s movements, and the Slytherin nodded, looping her arms up around Hermione’s back, like she was scared of losing her. Ridiculous, Hermione had nowhere to go, nor did she want to leave.

“More than. Please.” Pansy gasped, moving faster. The feeling was astonishing, nothing like Hermione would have imagined.

“You’re… you’re so wet.” Hermione murmured in astonishment, and Pansy nodded, shivering slightly

“I’ve been keeping myself under control for a long time, Granger. This is  _ nothing _ .” Pansy sighed, and Hermione shook her head, still not able to let that thought fully sink into her brain. It just seemed unbelievable, not at all logical.

“I can’t believe this is because of me.” Hermione murmured, and Pansy let out a breathy chuckle.

“Believe it.  _ Oh _ .” Pansy groaned, her eyes fluttering shut as she moved with Hermione, letting out quiet gasps every few moments

“Are you sure you don’t want-.” Hermione tried to offer something else, something that might feel better, might  _ be  _ better, even if she wasn’t quite sure what to do, she was a fast learner. She could figure it out. But Pansy leaned her head up to press a quick kiss to her lips before shaking her head.

“N-not right now. ‘M close.” Pansy said, her voice a little shaky, and Hermione raised her eyebrow. That couldn’t be right, right?

“Already?” She asked, and Pansy nodded quickly.

“Again. Been holding back. Long time.” Pansy gasped, and there it was again. The implication that it was longer than what Hermione had known. She had to ask, it was a burning question at this point.

“How long?” She asked, and Pansy cleared her throat, looking away from her as she did.

“D… Don’t worry about it.” Pansy panted, and Hermione watched as her girlfriend’s cheeks got even redder. So it was an  _ embarrassingly  _ long time then. Now she  _ had  _ to know the details, it had piqued her interest.

“Tell me.” She insisted, and Pansy was quick to shake her head. Okay, so even longer then what Hermione had thought, then. She’d thought maybe sixth year, because she’d lied when she’d said fifth year to Ginny.

“No.” 

“I can stop-.” Hermione watched as Pansy’s eyes flew open and she shook her head, grinding harder against her thigh. It was hot, seeing her like this, seeing her let go of her normal level of coolness and calmness. Even hotter knowing that it was  _ her  _ driving her this crazy.

“Wait! Wait, I’ll just…  _ fuck _ .” Pansy breathed, her head thrown back against the pillow as she let out another moan, and Hermione paused again, clearing her throat. She wanted to know.

“So?” Hermione asked, and Pansy tried to take a deep breath before speaking, which didn’t work too well.

“F… Fifth year.” Pansy admitted, her voice coming out in a whine, and for a moment Hermione froze. Fifth year…    


“So you  _ weren’t _ lying when you talked to Ginny!” Hermione exclaimed, a little surprised herself. And that surprise turned into pride as Pansy’s eyes rolled back in her head for a moment before she could bring herself to respond. Maybe the Slytherin really  _ was  _ as worked up from waiting as she was.

“N...o! Who could possibly do that so quickly?” She panted, furrowing her brows as her eyes slid shut. Hermione smiled to herself and leaned down to press a kiss to her sweaty brow as she moved her leg harder against the Slytherin, causing her to let out another loud moan. Hermione thanked  _ Merlin  _ for that silencing charm, even though it would probably effectively shut down anyone who was still trying to get between them… but that was also something she didn’t want. People hearing them, because that would be awkward for all parties involved.

“Merlin… you really  _ were  _ playing a long game.” Hermione mumbled against the skin, and Pansy let out a quiet moan as she yanked Hermione down to her lips, pressing a long kiss there before speaking again.. Or trying to.

“Told you… don’t play… love.” Pansy gasped, her nails digging hard into Hermione’s back, causing the Gryffindor to shiver a bit at the thought of marks being left there, scratches that would let anyone who might see them know  _ exactly  _ who was making Pansy fall apart. Not that anyone was seeing her shirtless  _ besides  _ Pansy these days, but still. She felt the Slytherin begin to shake beneath her, and she looked down to see her teeth worrying her lip, clearly trying to hold back. Well, that wouldn’t do now would it?

“It’s okay, you know. I  _ want  _ that to happen.” Hermione insisted, and she watched as Pansy’s back arched into her, a groan ripping from her throat.

“I… Hermione, I…  _ fuck _ .” Pansy gasped, her last word coming out as a near shout as she scrabbled at Hermione’s back, digging even deeper, causing the Gryffindor to gasp a bit at the pain. But she didn’t stop, not until Pansy was limp on the bed, breathing heavier than she did when she came back from her running. One look at her, and Hermione was lost for words. Pansy’s normally neat hair was splayed all over the pillow, some of it sticking to her forehead, there was a flush of red on her chest, up her neck, and on her cheeks from overheating, and her makeup was running. Just slightly. Probably again, from the heat. Hermione made a mental note to figure out how to get her hands on something to make Pansy’s makeup stay better… maybe she could come up with a charm.

“That was…” Hermione mumbled, shaking her head. She saw a lazy grin spread across Pansy’s face as she opened one eye, looking up at her before she pushed herself up a bit, onto her elbows.

“Hot. That was hot. Now lay down.” Pansy instructed. Merlin, she’d recovered quick… this girl had  _ stamina _ , and Hermione knew she wasn’t going to be able to match that, so she paused for a moment.

“Why?” She asked, and Pansy raised an eyebrow as she fully sat up, causing Hermione to lean back on her heels.

“Because, I want to go down on my  _ girlfriend,  _ which I can’t do when she’s hovering above me like some taunting vision out of my own horny fantasies.” Pansy said, so casually that Hermione nearly choked as she nodded. Okay. That was  _ for sure  _ something she wanted to have happen right now.

“Well… I can, I’ll do that.” Hermione said, hating how dumb she sounded in that moment, but Pansy didn’t mean to mind as she pressed another kiss to her lips.

“Good.” The other witch breathed, laying Hermione flat before she began her descent down, leaving light kisses and teasing bites down her skin, causing her to jump just a bit. Pansy paused just above her clit and left a light kiss there, causing her to twitch, before avoiding her sex completely, running her lips down either thigh. While that was frustrating, Hermione was a little relieved that she was taking her time. It gave her time to come to terms with how she looked… and the things she’d forgotten to do.

“I’m sorry I didn’t shave-.” Hermione started, and Pansy shook her head, mouthing up her thigh for a moment before she spoke again.

“Don’t care.” Pansy breathed, and Hermione took a deep breath and cleared her throat, trying to keep her mind focused.

“I meant to-.” She tried again, and Pansy lifted her head and slid a hand up to link with Hermione’s for a moment, effectively getting her attention. She was so terrified of disappointing her that she wasn’t prepared for the look in Pansy’s eye.

“Hermione. Love.” Pansy said, and she nodded. Right. The moment.

“Hm?”

“Brain off. Just… pay attention to this.” Pansy said, and she ducked her head back down, this time dragging her tongue right through the folds of her sex, causing her back to full arch off the bed as she let out a gasp.  _ That  _ was sudden.

“That feels…” She tried, and her words failed her.

“Hm?” Pansy asked, her voice vibrating against her in a way that amplified the feelings even more.

“ _ Like that _ , fuck. Just like that.” Hermione breathed, writhing under her tongue for a little while more before she felt Pansy’s finger brush against her entrance and she froze completely, and in turn, so did Pansy.

“Is this…” Pansy started, and Hermione shook her head. Maybe it was stupid, but she just wasn’t ready for that part of sex, even if she knew Pansy had no intention of hurting her.

“Um… could we wait on that?” Hermione asked, terrified for a moment that she’d fucked everything up. But no, Pansy merely nodded, giving her thigh a quick kiss before she settled back down, hands resting safely on top of Hermione’s thighs.

“‘Course love. No worries.” Pansy said, and Hermione nodded, letting her eyes flutter shut again as she felt Pansy’s tongue tracing through her sex, before stopping on her clit and running her tongue in tight, slow circles. A few more moments like this had Hermione writhing beneath her tongue. Merlin, how was she so damn  _ good  _ at this?

“ _ Oh _ . Pans, I’m gonna-.” She choked on air as she glanced down to see the look in Pansy’s eyes, it was practically  _ feral _ . Holy shit.

“Cum for me, ‘Mione. Please.” Pansy breathed, and that was what sent her over the edge. She moaned loudly as she twisted her fingers in the sheets, letting the sensations start to wash over her.

“ _ Fuck _ … Pansy!” She sobbed, white dots appearing behind her eyes as she shook against Pansy’s mouth, until her body went limp.

“That was.” Pansy paused to press a slow kiss to Hermione’s waiting mouth, causing the Gryffindor to shiver a bit. She hadn’t been expecting to taste herself on Pansy’s lips, but she wasn’t complaining… it just felt all the more intimate. “Even better than expected.” She finished, smiling widely as she held herself above Hermione.

“Really?” Hermione asked, and Pansy nodded, leaning down to press another kiss to her lips

“Yeah.” Pansy sighed as they separated, rolling herself off to the side of Hermione

“Good.” She yawned, curling up on her side, her eyes beginning to droop. She was  _ exhausted _ .

“Hermione, don’t fall asleep just yet.” Pansy said gently, and Hermione forced her eyes open. She didn’t know  _ why  _ she was so tired, they’d done much more physical activity on the road last year, but maybe it was just the combination of everything… all the waiting, the pining, that  _ wanting  _ coming to a head that had exhausted her so much.

“Hm?” She mumbled, and Pansy smiled as she turned Hermione on her back gently, settling her down.

“Lay down. I’m gonna clean you up.” Pansy insisted, and Hermione felt heat rise to her cheeks as Pansy did a few cleansing charms before looking up at her with a raised eyebrow, as if she wasn’t sure she’d done everything. She had, more than in Hermione’s eyes.

“Thank you. That was sweet.” Hermione mumbled as Pansy pulled her close, tugging her blanket up around them both as Hermione nuzzled into her neck, inhaling her perfume, feeling herself relax even more, if that was possible.

“Mhm. Now. You need to rest. Because I don’t exactly know how well I’ll be able to control myself from now on, and you’re going to need all the rest you can get. Now that you’re  _ actually  _ my girl.” Pansy sighed, settling down further into the bed. And before Hermione could start to dissect any of  _ that _ , she cleared her throat to speak.

“Pans?”   
“Yeah?” She asked and Hermione grinned, leaning up to press a lazy kiss to her jaw before speaking.  
“I was already your girl, idiot.” Hermione murmured, before letting herself surrender to sleep.


End file.
